Lies
by Fallingstar584
Summary: The plan had been simple: to save her from him. To destroy a romance so dangerous, it couldn't have possibly been true. To help her move on. It was too late when they found out that they were wrong. Draco/OC .
1. Prologue: October 9th, 1998

The only time he feared now, was the night. Sleep no longer came easily, he no longer blessed with the childlike innocence he once possessed. No. Now, his nights were tainted with the blood of others, his shadows filled with murderers and flashes of green, visions that now threatened to haunt his dreams as well. There was no place that he was safe from them. There was nowhere he could go.

Still there were precious hours of the night when he did escape into his dreams, and oh how wonderful it felt. He would be able to leave the pain and destruction behind, run away to one final place where none of them could chase him, where he knew she'd be waiting for him, waiting. Always waiting. And within the comfort weaved with the scent of strawberries, he was safe.

But even dreams couldn't last forever, and he'd find himself awake, his voice hoarse from screaming, wishing anything to leave this place, to see her again. And every morning Draco was left with nothing but a few forbidden tears and the whisper of her name upon his lips once more.

Kira.

* * *

Somewhere else, a girl laid between the white sheets in a bed within St. Mungos. Her skin was shockingly pale and the whiteness of the room on succeeded in making her look even more fragile. What could have been startling hazel eyes possessed only a glassy, blank look, windows of a house of which the residents had long left, leaving behind a rundown structure in their place. But as the teenage screamed awake, lights seemed to flicker on within her eyes, and a small smile crept onto her face, as she whispered something unheard.

"Cass? Harry asked, and the girl turned to see another boy next to her. "Did you say something?"

Her eyes shined as she nodded, simply replying, "I heard him."

"Heard who?" he asked, certain that no one had said anything, especially since he was the only one visiting at the moment. Visiting hours had passed awhile ago, but because of his name, the nurses did nothing to make him leave. Masking his fear, he tried to remain strong for her, as he waited for her answer.

"I heard…" Who had she heard? She searched her mind, trying to place the voice, but instead hit a blank wall. Whose voice had it been that resonated around her, bringing a calm that she hadn't felt in weeks? She shook her head, her smile quickly disappearing, giving way to desperation instead. Who was it? "I… I can't remember," she heard herself say, shocked as she realized this herself.

Tears raced down her cheeks, as she shook her head again, barely registering how Harry had pulled her into a hug. His arms held her tightly, trying to hold together the girl that had become the sister he never had, to keep her from falling into pieces before his very eyes. He hated the way how her fiery spirit had disintegrated, leaving behind this hollow husk of a person. Harry swallowed, closing his eyes. "It's okay," he murmured. "It's going to be okay." Again he was struck with how small and thin she had become, as sobs wracked her frame.

"No, it won't be okay. It won't," she said. "Harry, he's calling for me. He's looking for me." Her voice had taken on a pleading tone so easily. Did she think he could help her? "He needs me right now," she breathed, "and I can't even remember his name." Wordlessly, he rocked her back and forth, her grieving for what she lost. Before this, he never would have thought that one could miss something that they couldn't even remember. Now, he knew that it hurt all the same, if not more, now that she couldn't even cling to the memories of before.

Eventually, her breathing evened, and once again, she had fallen asleep. The sudden outburst of energy had tired her out completely, leaving her in the one place she could still find peace. Gently, he laid her back onto the pillow, before tenderly tucking the sheets around her. For a moment, he studied her, before drying her face, getting rid of the leftover tears.

With a sigh, he settled himself back into the chair. Even as he could hear Cassandra's soft breathing, he could still hear her voice crying, heartbroken. It rang within his ears, filling him with regret as he choked on a sob himself.

"It's not our fault," he repeated, trying to convince himself. "It's not." But the words meant nothing to him coming out of his lips. It had seemed like the solution to everything before. How could something that seemed so right go so wrong? He swallowed again, shaking his head, as he looked at her again.

_What in Merlin's name had they done?_

_

* * *

_

**A/N: Don'****t worry if you're confused so far. This will be a Draco/OC as mentioned in the summary. This chapter will make much more sense towards the end of the story than now. As for now, I'd love to hear your guesses on what's happening. Starting from the next chapter, I'll be beginning from their fifth year. Hope you like it and thank you for reading. **


	2. Home Sweet Home

**September, 1995 (Fifth Year). **

Between sleep and consciousness, there exists a moment when one is unable to differentiate between dreams and reality, a fragile balance that one could remain in, suspended in the silence within their mind. Tucked warmly between the scarlet covers of her bed, Kira peacefully remained in this state. At least, that was before piercing voice ripped through the room.

"Kira! Do you have any idea what time it is? Honestly, it's only the first day back, and already you're planning to be late to class!" Kira groaned, reluctant to open her eyes. Nine times out of ten, if one had asked her, she would have said that she loved being one of the Hermione Granger's best friends. Unfortunately, this was not one of those times. Instead, she merely pulled the covers over her head, a futile attempt to block out the sound, until the meaning of Hermione's words finally sank in.

"We're late? What time is it?" Kira asked, sitting up, with a note of alarm.

"It's almost six," Hermione said, disapprovingly. With another groan, Kira sank back into bed. "Not only do you have to get dressed, you'll have to get your books ready, and then there's the fact that you haven't even finished unpacking yet, and-"

"Leave me alone," Kira mumbled, still drowsed with sleep. Just as she was about to reenter the world of dreams, there was a sudden absence of warmth as her covers were yanked away from her. "Hey!"

"If you don't hurry up, you're going to miss breakfast," Hermione said, in a singsong voice. Kira opened her eyes and looked blearily to see her best friend already dressed in her school robes.

"I hate you," Kira said, sighing as she finally admitted defeat. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep now. Now that Hermione had mentioned it, she was pretty hungry. She looked around before noticing that none of them were awake, all asleep behind the curtains. "How did they manage to sleep through that?" she asked, curious.

"Oh, that. They remembered to cast a silencing charm around their beds before they went to sleep," she said simply.

Kira shook her head. "Alright just give me a moment to get ready," she said, walking over to the bathroom. Turning the water on full blast, she stepped into the shower, grateful for the scorching hot water. Finally she was back home in Hogwarts. The summer had been way too long for her liking, and with this shower, it felt like she was finally washing away everything unpleasant that she had left from before. Quickly she forgot about her telling Hermione that she would just be a moment, and let her thoughts disappear.

It was a while before she stepped out. After quickly getting dressed, she applied only a little makeup, just enough to cover up the bags under her eyes. As she always said, natural beauty was the best. Afterwards, the brush and her hair got into a brief fight, as she struggled to make the long tangle of brown that was her hair stay neat and organized. In the end, she had resorted to magic. She would never understand how muggles managed to live without it.

So it was a good hour before she was finally out of the bathroom, to the complaints of some of the other girls who had woken up. However, all of them were used to it after almost four years of living together. "Ready?" Kira asked Hermione.

"Do you think we'll need both of the Charms textbooks today? I'm not sure what Binns will want to teach on the first day, but maybe-"

"I really doubt it," she said, sighing. "Just bring the first one."

"I think it'll be safer if I bring both," Hermione said, satisfied as she put both of them in her bag. Finally, both of the girls headed towards the Great Hall, falling into easy conversation. She had missed Hermione over the summer. Writing letters back and forth, it simply wasn't enough for Kira, who was used to seeing her friends every day.

Seeing the food in the Great Hall was enough to take her breath away for a brief moment, her mouth quickly watering at the sight of so many options. Quickly, she grabbed a seat at the Gryffindor table, piling waffles and pancakes onto her plate. Hermione, being the more patient one, took her time in sitting down, before reaching for one muffin. "Honestly Kira, you're just like Ron," she said, in disapproval.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with appreciating your food," Kira argued, as she poured a generous amount of honey onto her food.

"That's disgusting," Hermione protested.

Kira merely took up her knife and fork before taking a bite. "It's really good, actually. Want to try some?"

"I'll pass," she said with a shudder.

"Morning," Harry said, yawning as he joined the girls. Ron grumbled some, before sitting down next to them. "For the record, you do eat a little too much for a girl," Harry added, staring at Kira's plate.

"No one asked you," Kira answered cheerfully. "Who said girls had to eat less than guys anyways?"

Hermione ignored Kira, before saying, "Hold on, I'm going to get our schedules from McGonagall."

"Thanks 'Mione," Kira said, before looking over at Ron. "What's wrong with him?"

"Oh nothing. He just got teased a little too much by the guys last night about becoming a prefect," Harry said, shrugging.

Ron groaned, viciously stabbing his own pancake. "You should have heard them, Kir! Going on and on about how 'little Ronnie was finally growing up'," he said, sighing.

"Aww, poor little Ron," Kira said, smirking. "Although shouldn't you be a little more happier about that?" she asked, trying to help him see the bright side. "If anything, you'll be able to get out of trouble more easily."

"Don't corrupt him, Kira," Hermione said with a sigh, as she came back.

"Relax, it's not like I'm going to abuse my power or anything," as Harry gave a small snort. "Think Malfoy will be more than capable of doing that," Ron said with a shrug.

At this, Kira rolled her eyes. "You guys make him sound like You-Know-Who, the way you keep talking about him. Oh, pass me the pumpkin juice?"

Harry poured her a goblet, before saying, "Just say his name already. And Kira, you know you're the only Gryffindor that even bothers being nice to him."

"He's not that bad." Kira sipped a bit of the juice, before smiling again. The house elves here made the best pumpkin juice she had ever tasted, and for her, it tasted of home.

"Then again, she's nice to everyone," Ron said to Harry. "Even Hermione doesn't do that."

"Well, he's a Slytherin," Harry said, as if that justified everything, before quickly backtracking when he caught the glare from Kira. "Okay okay, fine, I know your brother's in Slytherin too, but everyone aside from Daniel, everyone else is horrid."

"Not to mention what he called me back in second year," Hermione added, as she studied the schedules closely.

"Well, that's the way he's been raised, isn't it? I mean, think about it. All our lives we've been taught about the light side, about how everyone is equal. Well, what if we weren't?" Kira said, thoughtfully.

"It's still a choice. Take Sirius for example," Harry replied.

"Not everyone can be a Sirius, can they?" Kira said, stubborn.

"Forget it, she's not going to give up," Ron said, shaking his head. "Even though the guy hates her."

"I'm right here you know," she said, shaking her head. "And he doesn't… hate me," she defended. "We just haven't gotten the chance to truly bond yet."

"If I remember correctly, he insulted you as well last time," Harry said.

"That was nothing," she said, determined to think the best of him for now.

"Well it's good that you can stand Malfoy," Hermione said, sighing as she handed out the schedules. "We have double potions to begin with." Her words were greeted with groans from both of the boys. "You'll have plenty of time to 'bond' with him then," she said, sarcastically.

"Snape hates me," Harry lamented. "Probably wants me to test out some poison in class for him." At that moment, owls came swooping in with the morning mail.

"A bit late today, isn't it?" Hermione commented, before picking up the latest edition of the Prophet. Kira shrugged, taking her mail from Aria, the owl she shared with her brother, before thanking her for travelling so long. Aria gave a small hoot before flying off, no doubt to the Owlery. "Who's that from? Alex?"

"Yep." Kira carefully tore open the envelope. She smiled as she read through it. What she had liked perhaps the most about him, was how witty he could be, and how much he made her laugh.

"Who's Alex?" Harry asked, after looking through his schedule.

"The guy Kira was dating over the summer. Didn't you read any of her letters?" Hermione asked, exasperated.

"Oh, him. Isn't he a muggle?"

"Nope, wizard. But he goes to Salem instead," Kira said, shrugging. "He's extremely nice… and he's pretty cute," she said, smiling. "Too bad I had to end it."

"You broke up with someone else already?" Ron asked, surprised. "What is he, number four?"

"Well… yeah… long distance relationships never work. And for the record, he's number three."

"And you're still writing to him?" Ron asked, picking another muffin.

"We both decided that we were going to remain friends." When she caught the unbelieving looks from her friends, she sighed. "It was a mutual decision! And stop eating already," Kira said, before finishing up the last of her pumpkin juice. "It's time for class already."

"You're done with all that?" Hermione asked, staring at Kira's empty plate. "You had almost as much as Ron!"

"I don't eat that much," Ron denied. "And come on, wait, I want to have one more muffin."

Rolling her eyes, Kira said, "Please? Snape always kills us for being late to the first class."

"Why would anyone want to be early for Potions?" Harry grumbled, but at least he had abandoned the muffin and stood up.

"Why would anyone want to be late?" Kira retorted, before looking back at Ron. "Ron…"

"He'll find a way to torture us even if we're not late," Ron muttered before looking back at Kira. "Oh, alright, alright," he said, giving one last, longing look towards the muffin, then sighing as he picked up his things as well. "Let's go."

"So, what other classes do we have together?" Harry asked, as the group started off towards the dungeons.

"Well, since I quit Divination, you three will have that while I'll have Arithmacy. We have basically the same schedule after that, except I have Ancient Runes while you guys have study hall," Hermione said.

"I'll never understand why you actually enjoy killing yourself with all those classes," Ron said, in disbelief.

"At least we're together. I wonder what Umbridge is like," Kira said, thinking about Dumbledore's words last night.

"Well you heard what Umbridge said, and we all know what that means," Hermione said, her lips pursed. There was a moment of silence as the other three tried to work out what was meant by that.

"'Mione… mind reminding us again what exactly that means?" Kira asked, tentatively, only to earn a sigh from the other girl.

"You weren't listening, were you?" Then after thinking again, she shook her head. "Never mind, don't answer that. The point is that she's been sent by the Ministry."

"Which means?" Ron asked, as Kira gave a small 'oh' of realization.

"It means that the Ministry is trying to control Hogwarts from the inside, doesn't it?" Kira asked, serious for once.

"Well, basically, yes," Hermione said, nodding.

"So what does that mean for us?" Harry asked.

"We'll just have to find out then, won't we?" Hermione said, before looking at the time. "We're going to be late," she muttered, before starting to run.

"Again?" Kira asked, quickly chasing after her. It took them several minutes before they made it down to the right classroom, and by then, they could already hear Snape's voice as it droned out. Quietly, they tried to slip in unnoticed, but with four teenagers, the chances of them managing it was minimal.

"So you and your friends finally decided to join us, Potter?" Snape asked, walking towards them.

"Sorry, Professor," Kira said automatically.

"I wasn't speaking to you, Ms. White. That will be ten points from Gryffindor," Snape drawled. "Each."

"But that'll put us behind by 40 points!" Ron blurted, before realizing his mistake.

"Make that 50," Snape added, before addressing the rest of the class again, as they found their seats.

"Idiot," Harry muttered under his breath.

"As I was saying, before Potter and friends finally decided to grace us with their presence, fifth year potions, is no joke. I will be doing all that is within my power to pass some of my knowledge to those whose brains have the capacity to hold it. Now because the Headmaster… is so intent on promoting house-unity, he suggested that this year's grouping be done by pairing each of you with someone of another house," he said, voicing his distaste.

"Bet he's going to pair one of us with Crabbe," Ron whispered.

"Or worse, Malfoy," Harry answered.

"Guys, I thought we were over this," Kira hissed.

"Ms. White, are you so determined to make sure that Gryffindor gets last place for the House Cup again?" Snape asked, stopping in front of her desk.

"Sorry, Professor," she repeated, her cheeks a light blush.

With a final look, Snape continued. "In addition to working together for the rest of the year, you are expected to also complete a project on a difficult potion that I will choose for you. Now, the groupings."

"Longbottom and Goyle." Neville's eyes shone with fright, as he walked over to join Goyle.

"Potter and Parkinson."

"Me with him?" Pansy asked, in disgust, a comment that Snape chose to ignore. Harry rolled his eyes before accepting his fate, moving over to join the Slytherin.

"Granger and Zabini."

"At least he's better than Malfoy," she whispered, before gathering her books.

"Weasley and Crabbe."

"Told you," Ron muttered, before sighing and moving over. For a moment, she wondered who she would be paired with. There was no one that she was particularly against. If she had to choose, she supposed she would have chosen Zabini. From the way he treated his friends, he seemed to be a decent guy. But Hermione already had him, so who could she possibly end up with? She had to suppress a laugh as she remembered what Hermione had said just at breakfast.

_"You'll have plenty of time to 'bond' with him then."_

Impossible. Even Snape wasn't twisted enough to-

"Malfoy and White."

Surprise registered on her face, as Hermione gave her a look of pity. This was certainly going to be an interesting year.

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **

**I'll be switching between time periods sometimes, but if I do, I'll warn you guys ahead of time. Mostly the story will be written chronologically. **

**Reviews are absolutely loved! Don't hesitate to give me some pointers, or simply say what you liked / didn't like from what you read. I like seeing what other people have to say. Thank you!**


	3. The Art of Potion Making

It took awhile for the class to get settled down again. In this time, she had already picked up her things and moved to sit next to Draco. The words that she had so bravely said before about him came rushing back, including the boys' comments about how Draco hated her. It had been easy to dispute that back during breakfast, but now that she was sitting next to him, it was a whole new thing altogether.

Cautiously, she sneaked a glance at the teenager sitting next to her. His expression was bored, him staring towards the front of the classroom, waiting for the class to actually begin. She took in his appearance, from his emerald green tie that was loosely hanging, to how his blonde hair was casually disorganized. What she couldn't ignore was the apparent awkwardness that had settled around them, and she said the first thing that came to mind. "Morning, Malfoy," she said, smiling despite her nervousness.

He turned, raising his eyebrows. Kira wished away the nervousness. After all, even though the boys had said that Draco hated her, she couldn't remember if he had ever outright insulted her. Always they had been passing comments, and most of them were weak. Surely if he meant to harm her, they would have more harsh and direct. The boy gave a small sigh before turning to his left, looking straight at her. "What do you want?"

Kira shrugged. Now that they were actually talking, she relaxed somewhat. "I just wanted to say hi."

Draco gave her a weird look, but before he could actually say anything, Snape began talking again. "On page 14, you'll find the basic instructions outlining how you should be making a simple draught. I know this will no doubt be beyond many of your capabilities, but nonetheless, you will attempt it. I'll need a sample from each group afterwards. Begin."

Lighting the fire up with her wand, she prepared the cauldron, adjusting the flame until it was nearly a transparent blue. Pulling out the new textbook, she flipped over to the page in question. Reading over the instructions, she took some notes in the margins, before saying, "Well, this should be simple enough." To her surprise, when she turned, Draco was no longer next to her, but already at the ingredient cabinet. Walking over to help, she started gathering some of the necessary materials, before retreating to the table. "We should start with cutting the-"

"I prefer to work alone," Draco said, picking up the silver knife on the table, before starting to slice the root into thin pieces. His words had cut into hers before she had the chance to finish her sentence.

Determined not to be bothered, she continued. "Well, we could split the work in half with one of us getting ready for the next few steps and -"

"White, when I said alone, I meant alone," he said, emphasizing the last word. Kira frowned slightly, biting her lip. It was already difficult enough, working with him, and he wasn't making things easier.

"What do you want me to do then?" she asked, at last, watching as he struggled with cutting the root. According to the textbook, the root should have been releasing juice that would be crucial to the next step.

"Stay silent," he muttered, before rereading the section in the textbook.

"It would take double the amount of time if you did it alone," she tried to reason.

"And that would still be considerably less than the time it would take for me to fix one of your mistakes. I don't need someone messing up the potion."

"If I do mess it up, you can blame it on me then," Kira said, finally. Even if it was Draco, she wasn't going to let him get away with just anything. "You're doing that wrong anyways," she said, before taking his hand without thinking. "You're supposed to flatten it with the blade and cut along the lines," she said, as she guided his hand, in cutting it. Immediately the juice came gushing out, and she caught the drops in a glass bowl with her other hand. "There."

She released his hand before finally looking at his face. His cheeks were slightly tinted, from the heat of the fire perhaps? He shook his head. "I don't need your help," he muttered.

"I'm giving it anyways," she said, before measuring the liquid out, adding it slowly into the cauldron.

This time he didn't protest. "You're fixing it yourself if you mess anything up," he threatened, before turning back to the root.

"Okay," she said, grinning, before slowly stirring the potion clockwise. The rest of the instructions were straightforward. Potions had always been one of her better subjects, and it was almost relaxing. In fact, if not for Snape, it would have easily been one of her favorite classes. Still, the heat of the flames tended to get to people, especially with the fumes that this potion was emitting. She wiped the beads of sweat away, finally tying her hair up in a ponytail. Aside from the general "pass me the glass", there was little speaking. There was a form of comfort in the silence, all of the previous nervousness at the prospect of working with Draco had long disappeared.

When she finished adding in the last ingredient, she watched as the potion slowly turned into a light shade of blue. "Do you think it's ready?" she asked, breaking the silence.

Looking closely at the potion, he then examined the text again. The heat from the fire had not spared Malfoy either, and she found herself noticing things she had never paid close attention to. His hair was no longer arranged neatly at this point, from an hour long of work. But even now she could see how each strand casually fell into place. Far away, she had never noticed the color of his eyes. Whoever had said his eyes were gray couldn't be more wrong. The richness of that color could never be described with a word as simple as gray. No, it was the color of storms, right before the first drops of rain chose to fall. "I think it's done," he said at last, looking up, interrupting her train of thought.

Without a word, she nodded. She then ladled two separate portions out, writing their names in careful strokes onto the flasks. "I'll hand these in then," she said, walking towards the front. As soon as she walked away, she felt lighter, easier, as she let out a breath that she had not realized she had been holding. Caught up in this feeling, she hardly noticed when she nearly bumped into Snape.

"Sorry, Professor," she said, hastily, before looking back up at him.

"Slacking again? I haven't the faintest clue how you managed to scrape by my previous classes, but rest assured, unless you get your act together soon, this may very well be the last year we share together," Snape drawled.

"We're done, Professor," Kira said, keeping her voice in control. What he had said had been completely untrue. She had always worked hard in this class, hadn't she? But after four years with him, she knew better than to argue with someone who refused to listen.

"We?" he asked, suspicious.

"You paired with me with Malfoy today, Professor?" she reminded.

"I know that," Snape said, before taking the flasks. "You better hope that these potions are perfect. While Malfoy's skills have always been up to standards, one can only hope that you haven't ruined his work by another one of your accidents," he said, before starting back towards his desk. Just as Kira had been about to head back, he stopped. "Mr. Malfoy," he said, turning. "You and your partner will be assigned two potions to make as your extended project: the Polyjuice potion and Amortentia." It did not escape her attention that the professor was ignoring her, only focusing on his prized Slytherin.

"The Polyjuice potion?" Draco repeated. "I thought the Ministry banned it."

"For educational purposes only," Snape answered, before continuing. "You have two moons to complete these two potions, which is more than enough time." It was now that he chose to look at Kira. "Hopefully, one of you won't slow the other down."

"Yes, Professor," Kira said, looking straight back at him. Glaring at the witch before him for another moment, Snape abruptly turned and went back to his desk. Only once he was gone was Kira able to force herself to smile again, heading back to the table she shared with Draco. "When do you want to work on these potions then?" she asked.

"We?" Draco asked, his eyebrows arching again.

"It's a group project," she pointed out.

"Not all of us have the time, White. While you might have the time, I have Quidditch practice, not to mention, I'm a prefect now," he said, struggling for other reasons to get out of working together. "It would be simpler if we divided the work and worked on our own," he continued, only to receive a sigh from Kira.

"Ron's a prefect too," she pointed out. "And he has Quidditch practice as well."

"Don't compare me to the Weasel," he said, automatically.

"Don't call him that," she responded quickly, but firmly. "We can at least give it a try? And look, I'm not saying we have to be great friends or anything, but shouldn't we at least try to get along?" she asked, before smiling again.

"Why?" he asked, looking away again, appearing to be bored.

"Personally, I have nothing against you," she said, looking at him. "And I don't think you have anything against me." Slowly he turned back to look at her, with a 'no' already on his lips. However, he was caught by surprise for a brief moment, and he hesitated, before changing his mind again.

"Twice a week. We'll meet twice a week and see how it goes from there. You're free on Mondays and Wednesdays?"

Kira nodded, before grinning. She hadn't expected him to agree.

"7 o'clock then, in the empty potions room three classrooms away. Don't be late," he said, before regretting his decision already.

"Perfect," she said. "Thanks, Malfoy."

"For what?" he asked, giving a sigh of defeat.

"For giving me a chance," she said with a small laugh. Before he could think of a reply to this though, Snape had begun talking again.

"Class is dismissed. For homework, I want a three foot essay on this potion and the effects of each ingredient. You may leave."

"See you, Malfoy," Kira said, cheerfully, as she packed her things, quickly going to join up with her friends. Instead Draco was left behind with his own confusing thoughts. Before today, he had not really known Kira at all. In fact, although he did find it amusing, if not addicting, to insult the Golden trio, whenever he had the chance, he never had the urge to insult Kira herself. Now that he thought about it, there wasn't much that he could think of to insult her with. Aside from the basic information, he only knew that she was among the top of each class and her consistent cheerfulness.

He sighed, before taking his own things and starting to leave. The girl confused him, that much was certain. Anyone else would have gotten annoyed at him and his attitude during class, but not only did she put up with it, she seemed pleased through the whole thing. "Kira White," he repeated, testing the name out. Shaking his head, he decided that there was no point to dwelling on these facts. After all, he was Draco Malfoy, and Malfoys simply didn't waste their time thinking about annoying and confusing Gryffindors.

* * *

"That class took forever," Ron moaned, as they walked along the halls.

"Sometimes I think Snape might hate you even more than he does me," Harry said to Kira, shaking his head. "He was definitely targeting you the whole class."

"Pretty sure he would have done worse if I wasn't partnered with his favorite student," she muttered.

"How did that go anyways?" Hermione asked. "I can't see Malfoy cooperating with a Gryffindor in my mind. Did you guys 'bond'?" she asked, teasing.

"It went pretty well actually," she said, grinning.

"You're kidding," Ron said, in disbelief. "Merlin, I thought that this at least would wake you up to what a jerk that ferret really is."

"No, he was civil," Kira said. "Well, most of the time. We've already thought of meeting times for the project."

"Well good luck with that," Harry said. "I used to think I was bad at potions before I started working with Pansy. I swear, that girl makes me look like a natural."

"Probably afraid to break a nail," Ron added, grinning. "Crabbe did something when I was working on the roots, and the whole potion turned this nasty yellow color."

"Oh eww," Kira said, making a face.

"He probably stirred it the wrong way," Hermione mused. "I have to admit that Zabini wasn't as bad as I thought he would be though. He was certainly polite, amusing even."

"Snape must have had fun watching us," she said, rolling her eyes.

"What did you do to him anyways? Why is he so against you?"

"I'm not sure. I think it might have something to do with him thinking I stole an ingredient from his cabinet. It was during the Triwizard Tournament last year?"

"He thought I stole it too," Harry said, remembering about the gillyweed. "It was Dobby who really got it for me because he knew I'd need it for the task with the lake. He tried pinning that on you too?"

Kira shrugged, before Ron brought up the latest news about the Chudley Cannons. The rest of the day passed by quickly without many accidents. Classes quickly became dull as each teacher repeated the same lecture about O.W.L.S., and constantly, she found herself drifting off. Soon it was dinner, and she was again touched by all the food that was arranged on the tables. She must remember to thank the house elves soon. There was nowhere else she felt more at ease at than with her friends, and all four of them fell into easy conversation.

By the middle of dinner, Harry and Ron had gotten into a heated debate about whether or not the Tornados stood a chance this year, while Hermione tried showing Kira why she shouldn't have broken up with Alex. At this time, an unexpected visitor had snuck out behind her, before saying, "Boo," right next to her ear.

Kira screamed, her heart beating rapidly, before being greeted with laughter all around her. "Frick, Daniel, you scared me! And you guys, it's not that funny!" she said, trying to stay angry for a moment longer before collapsing into laughter herself.

"I just wanted to check up on my favorite little sis," Daniel said, grinning.

"Dan, I'm your only little sister," she said.

"Exactly my point," he said, winking. He caught the eyes of some of the girls nearby, before smirking. This caused some of the girls to giggle, and Kira rolled her eyes again. True, she had to admit that in any girl's eyes, she supposed that her brother could be taken as handsome or cute. They shared the same color of hair, except somehow he had managed to keep his hair, looking as if it was windswept always. His eyes were a captivating caramel, but what really drew others, was his sense of humor, and how he knew how to have a good time.

"You're impossible," she muttered, before eating some more of the chicken. Heavenly.

"I can't help it. It's not my fault that I was gifted with such godly looks," he said.

"Arrogant as usual, I see," Hermione commented, before joining in. Hermione and Daniel had always maintained some sort of playful banter here and there.

"Nope, only honest. And careful there, Kir. You're going to put on too much weight," he said, teasing.

"Since when does she ever put on weight?" Hermione asked. "You should have seen how much she ate this morning."

"I'm hungry," Kira said, as if that explained everything. "And what do you really want, Dan?"

"Can't I just come over and say hi?" he asked, innocently.

"You never do that." Kira looked over at him, knowingly. "Well at least not during dinner when you have all of your Slytherin friends with you."

"True. Just wanted to remind you to send off some letter to the 'rents," he said.

For a brief moment, her smile faltered. She bit her lip slightly, before shaking her head, putting on a smile once more. "Oh shoot, nearly forgot about that," she said, shaking her head. "What the heck is there to say anyways?"

"Just make something up. Say something about how your classes are going perfectly well."

"It's only been one day, Daniel. Does that even mean anything yet?"

"Doesn't matter. You know they'll get angry if you don't write."

"Fine, fine. I'll think of something. Thanks Dan," Kira said.

"See you around then," he said, before heading back. Kira grinned. She loved her brother beyond imagination, and it was sweet how he continued to look out for her even in school.

"Ah Kira, are you busy tomorrow night?" Harry suddenly asked.

"Tomorrow? Why?" Kira asked, thinking.

"Potions. I need some help," he said sheepishly.

"Harry, we've only had one class so far."

"Well, yeah, but I haven't the foggiest idea what to put on my essay. I was kind of hoping you could help?" Harry asked, hopefully. "Hermione and Ron have prefect rounds and everything," he quickly added.

"Sure sure," she said, before thinking again. "Oh wait, no I can't. I'm meeting Malfoy tomorrow night, remember? It's a Wednesday."

"Already?" he asked.

"We thought it'd be good to get started. The Polyjuice potion does take at least a moon, if everything goes well. Sorry, Harry… maybe some other time?" she asked, feeling guilty. "Oh, we both have study hall at the same time tomorrow," she pointed out.

"No, no, it's fine," he said, shaking his head, sounding slightly disappointed, and somehow she got the impression that this wasn't just about Potions help. Was there something that Harry wasn't telling her? She shook her head, laughing softly to herself. She was definitely thinking too much. The rest of the night passed in a flash. They ended up playing Exploding Snap in the Common Room. Hermione being the more sensible one, left early to go back to sleep, remind them that it was still a school day tomorrow, and Ron who was tired from the day's events, went to sleep early as well. Kira finally challenged Harry to another round of Wizards' Chess, but somewhere between the game, she had fallen asleep on the couch.

As she drifted off into dreamland, part of her was conscious of Harry bringing down two blankets as he took up residence on the second couch. Peacefully she slept, a smile upon her lips. It was only later was she aware of the warm blanket tucked around her and the whispered goodnight, and only later when she would wonder what it meant.

* * *

**A/N: **

**I'm updating much faster than I expected. I'm not sure how much I like this chapter just yet as it turned out to be different than I wanted it to be. Again, thoughts, comments, or just general ideas will be loved. Thanks!**


	4. Paranoia Doesn't Mix Well With Confusion

_Dear Mother,_

_School has started out well. The teachers are preparing us well for the upcoming OWLs, and I've been working hard. You'll be pleased to know that I've already begun the Charms extended project._

Kira paused in her writing, struggling to come up with something else to say. She had already put off writing the letter for another half of a day, and now that she had no more work left to do, she could no longer avoid it. True, people usually didn't write letters during Study Hall, but she had already wrapped up the Potions essay and finished up the Transfiguration reading.

_Quidditch tryouts are on Friday. I'll be trying out for Chaser again. Don't worry, I won't let it affect my studies. _

It wasn't that she didn't like the idea of writing to her parents. She just didn't know what to say. And it would have been much easier if she could at least have the comfort of knowing that they would actually care about what she wrote. Before she might have believed it. Now she knew better. It was utterly pointless to write when she knew that they would only continue to view her as a disappointment. With a sigh, her usual smile slipped off her face. She read over her words again, before continuing.

_In Potions we've just learned how to make another sleeping draught. Our extended project will revolve around two primary potions: Amortentia, the love potion, and the Polyjuice potion. We haven't been learning much in Defense. Professor Umbridge doesn't seem keen on actually teaching us much beyond basic theories. For Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall has been outlining the logic behind transforming inanimate objects into animate ones. For Charms..._

And like this, she continued to write about each of her courses, if only to fill up the space on the parchment. So wrapped up in her task, she didn't notice Harry until he spoke.

"Hey. You busy?" he asked, taking the seat next to her.

"Hold on, let me just finish this up," she murmured. With a few last words, she signed the parchment, before sealing it inside an envelope. "There, done. I just need to ask Aria to send this off later," she said, somehow pulling out another smile.

"Who's that for?" Harry asked, curious.

"Oh, that," she said, her smile faltering for a moment. "You know… my mom…" Harry was silent, then he cleared his throat.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but, I'm just saying, if you ever, you know, want to… um, well," Harry mumbled, not comfortable with matters such as these. Kira had never told any of her friends about home. At Hogwarts, she preferred to escape all of that, enjoying the times that she had away from the place instead. Here at least, she could pretend that they were only horrible nightmares. Hearing his words of concern now, his attempt to make her feel better, she was able to smile again.

"Relax Harry, I'm fine," she said, grinning. Not that she would ever tell him - no, it would probably horrify him if she did - he was rather cute when he was being considerate. She glanced up at the clock. Study Hall was almost over. "Hey, I need to drop this off at the Owlery. Come with me?"

"Yeah, yeah sure," he said, running his hand through his hair, as he always did when he was nervous. Quickly he grabbed his things, and she laughed.

"There's no rush," she said, gathering her own things, before starting to walk. "Hey, where are the others anyways?"

"Oh, Ron and Hermione went off some time before to go to the library."

"Ron? To the library?" she asked, incredulous.

"Yeah. Apparently he's stuck on the extended Potions project." They took a turn towards the staircases.

"Oh, that. Well our group has Amortentia and the Polyjuice Potion."

"The Polyjuice Potion shouldn't be too difficult," he commented, before making her laugh again. "What?"

"Harry, you've got to be kidding. It's one of the most difficult potions in the Wizarding world. It takes at least a full moon for it to fully mature, and not to mention how precise you have to be," Kira said, mentally running through some of the steps that she did remember in her head.

"Well, Hermione, Ron, and I, made it in the year before we met you," Harry said, shrugging.

"Seriously? But you would have been in…" she thought back. "I met you guys in third year… you guys made this in second year?"

"Yeah. We weren't friends at that time yet."

"But it's illegal! Harry!" she said, disapproving. "I can't believe Hermione would actually agree to such a thing!" Harry laughed as they walked up the stairs.

"She didn't. Well not at first. But in the end, she was the one that found the potion and told us it was the best idea. And really, I think she did most of the making. Ron and I still lacked the skills… really if I had to make it again, I don't think I can."

"Ha! You see? It is a difficult potion," Kira said, grinning again. "Wait, why were you guys making it in the first place?"

"Oh you know," Harry said. "We had this insane idea that Malfoy was the Heir of Slytherin, or that at least his father was, and somehow his father had taught him how to open the Chamber of Secrets. So we decided to pretend we were Slytherins and see if we could get anything out of him."

Kira shook her head. "Malfoy wouldn't have done that."

"Maybe not, but you should have heard what he said before," Harry said, shrugging. "Anyways, he's not very trustworthy. I'm pretty sure he'll be up to something again this year," he said, frowning.

Kira sighed. "Have you ever caught him at anything yet?"

"Well no, but, it doesn't mean he's not doing anything," Harry said defensively.

"Just listen to yourself. You're turning paranoid," she said, shaking her head again.

"You shouldn't meet up with him tonight," he said.

This comment made Kira frown. She opened the door to the Owlery, stepping inside before saying, "Why?"

"It's not… safe."

"Harry, what do you think he's going to do to me?"

"I don't know. That's the problem."

"Harry, I can take care of myself," Kira said, as she found Aria. With a spare bit of string, she started tying the letter to her leg.

"I'm not saying you can't. Look, I just don't like the idea of you hanging around him. At any rate, he's a Slytherin."

"And so is Daniel, and he's not dangerous." She stroked Aria's feathers lightly, before digging around for an owl treat. After a few murmured words, the owl took flight, heading towards England.

"Your brother can't protect you all the time, Kira," Harry said, as he stood next to her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kira asked, turning defensive as she turned around to look at him.

"You know what I mean," he said, pointedly. Even without meaning to, his voice had taken on a new edge.

"No, I don't. I don't need Daniel to fight my fights for me," she said, no longer smiling.

"That's not what I mean. The point is, I don't want you spending time with Malfoy."

"What are you so scared of, Harry? He's just a potions partner. We aren't even friends, and he has never even done anything to me, so why are you being like this?"

"That's because he's never had a chance to yet."

"So what, our potions are just going to magically create themselves?" Kira said, sarcastically.

"You can work separately, I don't know, you guys can figure something out. I don't want you working with him."

"You don't… want… me working with him?" she repeated. "You can't control me, Harry," she said, trying to keep herself in control.

"Why can't you just see that he's not a good person?" Harry asked, frustrated. "He's happy to be in Slytherin. His parents were in Slytherin. Merlin, his parents killed and murdered, all for Voldemort! How can you even think that he can be any good? They were Death Eaters!"

Kira swallowed, looking away from Harry. "Just like my parents and me?" she asked, quietly.

Harry quickly tried to backtrack. "I didn't mean them. Kira, you know I didn't mean you. I meant Malfoy, he-"

"Forget it," she cut off, still not looking at him, continuing to hide the hurt expression she had. "Just forget it," she said, before heading out the door. With his head spinning, this was how Harry found himself in the Owlery, wondering how in the world things could go wrong so quickly.

* * *

She ended up not looking for Hermione after all. At any rate, she had the research done for Amortentia already, and they could start with that. She would leave the Polyjuice potion research for a day that wasn't so hectic. Instead, she headed towards the kitchens, before asking the house elves for some food. Sure, it wasn't going to be as wonderful as the dinner she knew was going on at the same time, but at this time, she really didn't want to face Harry. She sighed. Not that she could really avoid him for much longer. Not only were they in the same house, they were in the same year as well. Plus, the Marauder's Map was last left with him. If he got tired of waiting for her, he could simply find her with the map.

After finishing up her pumpkin juice, a heavenly drink that she couldn't live without, and the last of her chicken, she walked towards the empty Potions classroom where they agreed to meet. She arrived a little earlier than expected, and wasn't surprised that she had arrived before Draco. She decided to use the extra time to get the room ready. Searching the ingredients cabinet, she was able to find most of the materials that they would need, at least today.

Maybe it was a little silly, but again she wondered if this was a good idea. Again the words from Hermione, Ron, and Harry circled in her mind, especially Harry's. She groaned, trying to get her mind off of him. It really wasn't her fault. And how could he even think about saying all of those things to her? She swallowed, before pulling out one of the bigger cauldrons that had been left in the classroom for the projects. It was heavier than she expected, and it was with effort that she finally placed it onto the table in front of her.

Glancing at the clock, she sighed again. It was already ten minutes past seven. What if he decided not to show up? She wouldn't put it past him, and really, it had looked like he regretted agreeing to the whole thing yesterday. She shivered slightly. The dungeons were much colder than the hallways above. This was ridiculous. Maybe she should have listened to the others. Right now she could be curled next to the fire in the Common Room, instead of being here. But even if he decided not to come, he could have at least told her, right? She glared at the cauldron, as if she was blaming it for everything that had happened today. The whole situation with Harry was frustrating enough. She really didn't have the patience to track down Draco.

Just as she debated on whether or not to just begin the potion herself, the door opened again, and in came Draco.

"You're late," she said, trying to sound stern. She hid the relief that she felt that he had, at least, come.

"Sorry," he muttered, walking towards her. "I got caught up with some things."

"It doesn't matter," she said, shrugging. She had already forgiven him in her mind. "I was thinking that we should start with Amortentia today."

He peered inside the cauldron to see the boiling water. "I thought the Polyjuice potion took longer?"

"Oh. Well, yes… but I haven't found the instructions for the potion yet," Kira admitted, pulling out what she did have on Amortentia.

"Merlin, what is the world coming to? For once, the brilliant White has come unprepared." Draco asked, smirking.

"Ha ha. Very funny," Kira said, rolling her eyes. "Here, we can start with crushing these up," she said, before handing him some of the materials. "I, for one, didn't know you were such a drama queen."

"Hilarious," Draco said, drily.

"Maybe you should do the research yourself, next time," Kira suggested.

"No, unlike you, I don't spend my free time in the library," Draco said, trying to sound harsh. As usual though, he found it harder with her. There was just something about her easygoing attitude that made it seem pointless, if not childish, to try and upset her.

"You seem to be in a good mood today," she commented, changing the subject. She added some of the powder from the cabinet into the water, stirring slowly clockwise.

"And what makes you say that?" Draco asked, confused.

"You haven't insulted me yet."

"You're complaining because I haven't insulted you?"

"Well, no, but it's strange," Kira admitted. They worked for a moment in silence before Kira asked another question. "So, what's your favorite color?"

Draco didn't move his eyes away from his work. "We don't have to talk, you know."

"I don't like silence," she said, shaking her head. "And we're going to be spending a lot of time together in the near future. Why not get to know each other a little better?"

"What makes you think I want to know you better?"

"Nothing. Then again, there's nothing that shows that you don't either," Kira said, not letting him get to her.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Well, in case you forgot, what about the fact that your friends and I hate each other?"

"It doesn't really have anything to do with me in particular, does it, the fact that you and Harry hate each other?" Kira pointed out. She frowned slightly as she mentioned his name.

"Well… not really," he admitted, if not grudgingly. Curious, he looked over at her. "So what happened between you and Potter?"

"What makes you think that anything happened?" Kira asked, caught by surprise.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure it out, and with my superior intelligence, of course I know," Draco said, making Kira roll her eyes again. "You weren't at dinner, and obviously you aren't really happy talking about him." It didn't seem strange to her then, that he had noticed her absence.

"Why do you want to know?" Kira asked, trying to divert his attention.

"You were the one that said we needed to get to know each other better."

"Trust you to use that when it's to your advantage," she muttered. "Here, add the crushed bits in now," she said, pointing towards the cauldron. He did as she said, and she stirred, watching as the potion turned a light lilac. "We got into a fight," she said at last.

"Oh." For once he didn't have a witty comment to add. He sneaked another peek at her, before noticing that she was still a little upset about this, despite how she tried not to show it. "About what?"

"It was stupid really," she said, trailing off. "If you really want to know, it was about you."

"Oh." He didn't even think about how idiotic he sounded, with his short responses. Looking at the girl again, he could see that her smile had disappeared. He felt a twinge of guilt, seeing as he was the one who brought it up. Automatically, he reached for the roots, starting to slice them into thin, even pieces. "My favorite color is emerald," he said, abruptly changing the subject.

She cracked a grin. "Slytherin through and through?"

"It's a nice color," he defended before asking, "And yours? It's probably red or gold, knowing your house."

"Wrong. It's orange," she said, smiling.

"Orange? Why orange?"

"Why not?" she asked, before shrugging. "I don't know. It's an unpredictable color, and well, I like things being unpredictable sometimes, you know?"

He shook his head. "You really are weird."

"Thank you," she said simply. "Add the sliced roots in now," she reminded. After he added them in, the potion became thicker, harder to stir. She turned the fire up, before starting to stir it counter-clockwise now.

"Here, I'll stir," he said, taking the stirring rod from her. It was only fair that she got a short break.

"I think we should be friends," she said suddenly.

"Wait, what?" he said, his stirring coming to a stop.

"Don't stop stirring!" she said, knowing that the potion would lose its thickness if he stopped.

"Sorry," he muttered, stirring again.

"Like I was saying, I think we should be friends."

"That's not a good idea," he said immediately.

"Why not?"

"Again, you're in Gryffindor. I'm in Slytherin. That make sense to you?"

"So?"

"Why do you even want to be friends?" he asked, confused. Before this, he thought that girls were usually easy to figure out. After all, most of them spent their time trying to impress others of the opposite gender, or gossiping away in their tight little groups. So what was it that made Kira so different?

"Well, you're nice, for one."

Draco scoffed at this. "Define nice," he said, pointedly.

"Well you are," she argued. "Okay fine, maybe you insult the trio a lot, but I've seen the way you act around Zabini and Parkinson. You have a nice side. You just don't usually show it to Gryffindors."

"Next reason," he said, shaking his head.

"It's awkward having to call you by your surname all the time."

"Any others?" he asked. "That wasn't much of a reason, by the way."

"And, besides, I like you."

"You what?"

"I. Like. You." She said it slowly this time, emphasizing each word. "You're an interesting guy."

"Interesting?" he repeated, only to get a shrug from her.

"Come on, what can it hurt?" Kira asked, grinning again. Draco groaned. "Please?" she asked, her eyes opening wide. Later he would remember that he couldn't even refuse her even in the beginning.

"Oh fine, but remember White, you asked for it," he muttered. It couldn't be that bad. Besides, he liked her well enough so far. The only annoying fact was that she was a Gryffindor, and that she was friends with the Trio, but other than that, there didn't seem to be anything bad with her.

"Call me Kira," she said, smiling widely. She peered into the potion, that both of them seemed to forget about for awhile. "I think this is good. We'll have to do the rest next time. It needs to sit like this for around a week."

He looked at the potion as well. "Okay." Draco pulled out his wand, levitating the potion over onto one of the shelves, before labeling it with their names, adding that it should not be touched. Kira waved her own wand, watching as the flame extinguished.

"See you tomorrow in class then," she said, walking towards the door. "Night, Draco."

Without warning, his heart suddenly sped up when he heard his name from her. Quickly he dismissed it as surprise. "Night, White," he said, before the girl turned back to face him. "I mean… night… Kira…" he mumbled. Satisfied with his response, Kira left the room feeling much better than she had compared to when she entered. As for Draco, he left the room, confused by what had just happened. She was, no doubt, one of the weirdest witches he had ever met.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I promised this is going to be a Draco/OC story. This took me a lot longer to write out for some reason. I'd absolutely love it if you would take the time and type out a review after reading. Oh, and if you don't mind, I was wondering, aside from Kira and Draco, what other character do you want to see more of the most? **


	5. True Love Doesn't Exist

Kira couldn't believe her luck. She was lucky enough to somehow successfully ignore Harry throughout breakfast. There were a number of times when Harry had cleared his throat, about to say something to her. She was especially proud of how she was able to start a conversation with Hermione each time, cutting him off. As a result, Harry spent most of his time chatting with Ron, glancing every so often at Kira as they discussed who was more likely to make the Quidditch team this year.

She was lucky enough to avoid Ron being suspicious. He was confused at how Kira seemed to be abnormally silent throughout breakfast, but what had really shocked him, was how little she had eaten. In fact, aside from her regular pumpkin juice, she had only a piece of buttered toast, before saying that she wasn't hungry. Whether it was because Ron was being extremely considerate, or if he just didn't know how to react, - although really it was probably the latter - he chose to look past these facts, stuffing himself with scrambled eggs, toast with strawberry jam, and the another fresh blueberry muffin.

She wasn't lucky enough to have completely escaped Hermione though. The girl gave her a look before saying, "We need to talk."

Kira had merely nodded, resigned. It wasn't that she was avoiding Hermione anyways. Even if she hadn't noticed, Kira probably would have gone up to her and talked with her anyways. It felt odd not talking to Harry, and who else was she going to go to, if not Hermione? "After class," she murmured, as they went into Potions.

Automatically, she went to sit next to Draco. "Morning, Draco," she said, a smile coming naturally as soon as she saw him.

"Why on earth are you happy for double Potions?" Draco groaned, taking out his textbook.

"It is one of the only classes I spend time with you," Kira said, not really thinking about her answer.

"In love with me already?" Draco teased. He found it unbelievable that talking with her could come so easily.

"In your dreams, dear," she answered.

"I'm not anyone's 'dear'," he started to say, but before he could get any further, Snape had begun speaking. "Today we'll, excuse me, I meant you'll, be allowed to continue your potions project. I know that for a fact that most of you haven't even started yet, but for the rest of you, you should use this time wisely."

Draco looked over to Kira. "I suppose you haven't started the research for the Polyjuice potion yet?"

Kira blushed. "I didn't exactly think we'd need it for class today."

"Tsk tsk, second time in a row. Now what are we going to do with you?" Draco said, laughing softly as he sat down. She never really noticed, but he had a rather nice laugh. Rounded and soft, it took away from the cutting edge he usually had.

"Maybe you should do the research then," she said, stubbornly.

"Alright, alright. You can do it later," he said with a small shudder, not wanting to spend his time in the library. Honestly, that librarian really had it in for him. The last time he had gone in, she had followed him with her eyes the whole time, like a hawk eyeing its prey. It was creepy to say the least, not that he would tell anyone that he was just a little scared of the librarian.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked, with a sigh. "We can't work on the Amortentia potion for another six days or so, and we can't start the Polyjuice potion without the actual recipe."

He pulled out some parchment. "We'll just get started on the Amortentia essay. It should be simple enough." Kira nodded, before taking out some parchment of her own. As she was dipping her quill into the ink, Draco's voice came again. "What's your favorite Quidditch team?"

"What?"

"You heard me. I'm 'getting to know you better'," he said, complete with air quotes and all.

"The Chudley Cannons," she answered.

"You've got to be kidding," he said, shaking his head. "The Cannons? They never win," he said.

"Oh, trust me, this is their year," she said optimistically. A couple of years ago, if anyone had told her that the Cannons would be the team she'd support, she'd laugh nonstop. But after nearly two years of hearing Ron talking on and on about the Cannons, she quickly became their supporter as well.

"They won't make it to the finals," he said, dismissively.

"You didn't just say that," Kira said, turning to look at him.

"What if I did?" Draco said, looking back at her.

"What team do you support then?" Kira asked.

Draco turned back to his parchment, writing down a few words in his neat scrawl. "The Holyhead Harpies."

Kira gave him a weird look. "Draco… you know they're a girls team… right?"

"So? They're great at playing," he defended. "Have you seen their seeker? You should have seen the feint she pulled last summer. She definitely had the others fooled. It was absolutely amazing," he said, before stopping abruptly.

"Wow, I'm impressed Draco," Kira said, laughing softly.

"Not funny," he muttered, embarrassed now. Snape passed by their table, and for awhile they both wrote in silence. After awhile, Draco frowned at his paper, trying to think of how to continue. "What are some of the characteristics of the potion again?"

"Well, anyone around it would immediately smell what most appeals to them," she stated, as she scanned some of her notes. "Why would anyone want to make a love potion anyways?" she asked, putting down her quill.

Draco sighed. "The name's kind of self explanatory, isn't it? It's a love potion."

"Not what I meant. But the love it makes, it isn't, well, real. In the end, it wouldn't really mean anything, would it?"

"Getting philosophical there, aren't you? Make sure you don't damage those brain cells you have left," Draco couldn't resist saying. Kira scowled, but then he continued, serious for once. "Does it matter? The guy will still get the girl, and the girl will be happy with him," he said.

"But it isn't true love," she insisted.

"I don't believe in love," he said simply, leaning back in his chair. "Or true love, whatever you want to call it."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Are you really surprised? People, they don't usually marry for love, do they? They marry for money, to make the family line stronger and all that. Keep the family going," he said, matter-of-factly.

"What about the others? The ones that really do marry each other because of love?" she persisted.

"And how often does that happen?"

Kira thought back to her own family, to the families she had seen. Suddenly she was reminded of the parties that she had been forced to attend as a child, the cold expressions the ladies had shown her. She remembered the scandalous gossip she had caught, if only because they hadn't expected a young girl to be listening in. She remembered the way that the women had been paraded around, as ornaments on the proud men's hands, shiny trophies that they were happy to own. "Not very often," she said finally.

"Exactly what I mean," he said, before writing down a few other words. "What about you?"

"Hmm?" she asked, lost in her own thoughts.

"You. Do you believe in true love?"

Kira laughed softly, before thinking. "Do I believe it exists? Yes. Fine, maybe most of us won't find it, but it still exists. I'm just hoping that I'll be one of the lucky ones that do find it."

Draco looked at her, curious again. "And how do you know it exists?"

"I don't," she said simply. "But the world would be an awfully grim place without it, don't you think?"

Again he was lost for an answer. "I don't get you, White," he muttered.

"You don't have to," she answered. "And you're supposed to call me Kira, remember?"

"Alright, alright. Kira it is," he mumbled. Most of the rest of the class was spent in silence. If it had been with anyone else, she would have found it awkward. Instead, this silence was peaceful, and before long the class was over, and her essay half complete.

"See you later, Draco," she said, cheerfully, stating to leave the classroom.

"See you," Draco replied. His essay was nearly complete, but somehow he couldn't get his mind away from what they had discussed during class. A love potion. He scoffed. Was Snape trying to play a joke on him? Of all the potions he could choose, he simply had to choose the strongest love potion known to the Wizarding world. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

Kira had planned to talk to Hermione right after Potions class. But somehow Neville had come over, happily discussing with her the properties of this new plant he had read about in the book that Professor Sprout had lent him. Kira listened, slightly awed by how Neville could seem so at ease when speaking about plants. When it came to Potions however, he would simply lose all speech skills. After Charms, they were interrupted yet again, this time by Luna, who wanted them to read the latest edition of the Quibbler. And so it continued through the rest of the morning. They didn't get a chance to talk until after the day's classes, when they finally decided to use the time before dinner to finish up their potions research.

"I just can't believe he would say that to me, Hermione," Kira said, as she paced in the library. During the time it had taken Hermione to persuade the librarian to allow them into the Restricted section (something that wasn't too hard, since the librarian absolutely adored Hermione), Kira had successfully described everything that had happened within the Owlery to her best friend. As for Ron, he had already fallen asleep at a nearby table, his potion book open to the same page he had started on.

"Are you mad at him then?" Hermione asked, looking for the potions book that had helped them in second year.

"Yes! Of course!" she answered quickly, turning back to Hermione. Then she quickly blurted again, "Well not really, I mean, oh I don't know."

"You don't know?" Hermione repeated, before going, "Found it. It's this one," she said, as she pulled down a revolting book that seemed to be coming apart at the seams. She pulled the book into her lap and starting flipping through, sitting down on the floor.

Kira shook her head, before coming closer, sitting next Hermione to look at the potions book. "Harry's… always been like a brother to me. Kind of like Daniel, but closer in some ways, you know? I can't remember the last time we actually fought."

"How was the meeting with him last night anyways? You two seemed to be getting along this morning too," Hermione said, thinking.

Kira smiled at this. "I told you, he's a really nice guy."

"Hmph, or so you say," Hermione said in disbelief.

"Draco and I have decided to be friends," she said, extremely proud of this fact.

"You're calling him Draco now?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"Anything wrong with that?" she asked, uncomfortable.

"Well no. But seriously? Malfoy said he wanted to be friends with you?"

"Not… exactly. I suggested it, and well, we agreed in the end," Kira admitted.

"Can't wait to see how that'll end up."

"Stop being so pessimistic, Hermione," Kira said as she rolled her eyes.

"Alright alright. I'll support… whatever friendship thing you have going on with the ferret." Before Kira could complain, she switched topics again. "Going back to Harry… he's just trying to protect you," Hermione said, turning to look at her friend.

"From what? Malfoy? 'Mione, you know we're just working together for the project. And even if we do become great friends and all, it's not like he's actually going to do anything major to me, so I don't get why Harry's so upset about the whole thing."

"Well I know that, but maybe he doesn't. Plus, you can't really blame him, he's always been overly protective over you."

"But why? I can't really see him overreacting if you were the one paired with Malfoy," Kira asked.

"Well I'm not you, am I?" Seeing how that didn't make sense to Kira, she continued. "You seriously haven't noticed?" Hermione asked, giving her a weird look.

"Noticed what?" Kira asked, confused.

Hermione gave an exasperated sigh. "Honestly, I swear you can be as clueless as Ron sometimes."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't think about that for now. You'll find out soon enough," Hermione said, shaking her head again. "Anyways, what's the main reason that you're so mad at him? We all know that the guys can be idiots sometimes, and you've never really gotten mad at him before."

Kira leaned her head back against one of the bookshelves. "Do you agree with him? That just because someone's parents are Death Eaters, they'll turn out to be evil as well?"

"Harry said he didn't mean you, you know."

"Yeah, I know, but, do you?"

Hermione was silent for a moment. "I think it all comes down to choice in the end, doesn't it? Sirius chose to go against his family. Regulus didn't. Malfoy likes and agrees with a lot of his parents' ideals, doesn't he? And you certainly aren't following your parents either. You're in Gryffindor for a reason."

"But I'm not a Sirius," Kira said, softly. "I'm not… as brave as him, as strong as him. You know me… I'm still trying to please my parents after all this time."

"But you're still choosing to be friends with us, aren't you? And you're against all of the Death Eater ideas, aren't you? No one blames you for wanting your parents to like you, Kira. It's only natural. But you, you've chosen your side, haven't you?" Hermione turned, giving her a small hug. "And we all know that."

Kira smiled, immediately feeling better. "Thanks Hermione. I needed that."

"What are friends for?" Hermione said, grinning. "Now about that potion…"

* * *

So caught up in their work, the girls would have missed dinner altogether, had it not been for Ron. Ron had woken up in dismay, seeing his incomplete potions research.

"I'm doomed," he moaned, as they walked down towards dinner.

Kira laughed. "What did you expect? Your work to just finish by itself while you were happily sleeping away?"

"How can you even feel like eating without getting any work done?" Hermione asked in disapproval.

"We've already missed half of dinner," he grumbled. "Without me, you guys would have starved. And you know I can't get any work done with an empty stomach."

"You never get any work done," Hermione muttered.

"Oh I'm so sorry that I can't be as perfect as you," Ron said, mockingly.

"And I'm so sorry, that-" Hermione began, before being cut off by Kira.

"Quiet you guys. We're here," she said, rolling her eyes. It was cute, watching the two of them bicker, but sometimes it could get to be a little too much. The smells that wafted from the Great Hall were mouthwatering. Quickly she grabbed a seat at the Gryffindor table. She started filling her plate, pulling off a juicy chicken leg, before adding some rolls to the plate.

"This is so good," she said, with a sigh of content.

"I know right?" Ron tried to say, but it ended up coming out more as "I hore aight?", his own mouth being full with chicken.

"Ron! I told you so many times already! Don't talk with your mouth full," Hermione said with a sigh.

Kira had been about to reach for some of the sweet corn, when someone said, "Move over." She moved to the left, to find Daniel sitting on her right.

"Aren't you kind of at the wrong table?" Kira said, before noticing some of the steak in front of her. "Oh, this looks really good too," she said, helping herself to some.

"The guys are being idiots back there," he said, shaking his head.

"Hey Daniel," Hermione said, grinning.

"Slytherins are always idiots," Ron muttered, before quickly saying, "Except for you of course. I have no clue why you're in that house." And true, Daniel was the only Slytherin Ron could actually stand on a daily basis. True, Ryan and Tristan, Daniel's friends, weren't bad, but there was something about them being in Slytherin that just threw Ron off.

"Hey Hermione, Ron. And Kira, we never get a chance to talk! How do you expect me to survive without you, my brilliant sister?" he asked overdramatically.

"Oh be quiet you. People are starting to stare," she hissed. But she needn't have worried too much about that. Most of the table was already used to Daniel's random antics, and dinner continued normally. "What are you up to?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well, if you really want to know, the guys are getting ready."

"Another prank, Daniel?" Hermione asked, frowning. "You know Ron and I are prefects this year, and-"

"Relax, Hermione. It's not going to be on Gryffindor for once. The Ravenclaws won't know what hit them," he said, smirking. Daniel filled his plate with fries, adding an enormous amount of ketchup, before sighing. "I can already see it."

"Ready for tryouts tomorrow?" Ron asked, changing the subject.

Kira groaned. "Oh no, tryouts," she muttered. "I almost forgot about them."

"Slytherin tryouts are next week," Daniel corrected. "We figured we could give you Gryffindors a head start."

"Right, do I need to remind you guys that you lost last year?" Kira retorted.

Daniel shook his head. "Those are just minor details, little sis. Can't you feel it? We're in for a real change this year. I'm telling you, with two new beaters and Montague as our captain, nothing will stop us," he said confidently. "And plus, I've thought out some new tactics over the summer. Absolutely foolproof. I mean, I have it all figured out. If we just pull together our defense, and-"

"Breathe, Dan. Breathe," Kira said, cutting off his Quidditch spiel. She knew if she let him go on, he wouldn't stop for awhile. Daniel was quite sensible usually, but when it came to Quidditch, the boy was absolutely obsessed.

"Why are you worried, Kir? You've made it in ever since third year, and Angelina's not going to lose a Chaser like you," Hermione said, shaking his head.

"'Mione's right. You'll do fine. I'm the one that's doomed," Ron groaned.

"You're trying out this year?"

"Well at least you're trying out this year, Ron. And I've seen you play at the Burrow. You'll do fine," Kira said. "They need another Keeper anyways.

"Easy for you to say," he muttered.

"Oy! White!" Both Kira and Daniel turned towards the Slytherin table, as someone came up. "We're ready, hurry up already! Oh hey Kira."

"Don't let him get into too much trouble, Ryan," Kira said, grinning.

"Oh we won't," Ryan said, smirking. "We're too good to be caught."

"Why is it that all of your friends are just as arrogant as you?" Kira asked, rolling her eyes. Not that she would ever admit it, she thought Ryan was kind of cute in that way. Of course, he probably only saw her as a little sister. And then again, none of her relationships really lasted long, but that was probably her own fault.

"You know you love it," he teased. "And that's my cue to leave," Daniel said, finishing up his fries before standing up. "See you later, Kir! And try not to miss me too much," he joked, before following the guys.

"He's impossible," Kira said, shaking her head.

"He's pretty cool, if you ask me," Ron said, before passing her a slice of apple pie. "It's really really good."

"Don't encourage her, Ron," Hermione said, shaking her head. "Do you know how much sugar she's had just tonight? How much food?"

"No we're not going to start on how I'm going to get fat in the next few months again," Kira said. Food was just too good to ignore. "Thanks Ron." Kira just started searching the table for some pumpkin juice, a heavenly drink that she would never get tired of, when a goblet appeared right in front of her face. "Thanks," she said, taking the juice from the person, before noticing that it was Harry.

"I'm really sorry about before," he began, talking extremely fast. "I really overreacted, and you know I didn't mean to, and fine, you can go meet Malfoy if you want. I'm not going to try to stop you, because you're completely right-"

"Harry-" Kira tried to cut in.

"And really it's your life like you said. I can't control you. But Kira, please don't be mad at me, I was just-"

"Harry-"

"Worried about you, really. And I promise I won't do it again. In fact, I'll-"

"Harry!"

"What?" he asked. "I'm trying to apologize here!"

"I'm not mad at you!" Kira said.

"Well if you just listen to me-, wait, you're not?" Harry asked, incredulous.

"I'm not," she said, seriously, before suddenly finding the situation completely hilarious, bursting out into laugher. "Completely forgiven."

"Well, in that case…" Harry trailed off, blushing slightly. He ran his fingers through his hair again, before laughing along.

"Hold on, what'd I miss?" Ron asked, completely confused from the exchange just went on between the two of them.

"Ron, just forget about it," Hermione said. "Eat your dinner."

"Wait, you knew about this? How come I'm always the last to know?" Ron complained, before taking another bite out of the chicken.

"Because you never pay attention," Harry said, laughing again. He sat down as if nothing had happened, and they continued eating. After several arguments about the best band in the Wizarding world, jokes about Umbridge, and exchanging the latest gossips that had circulated around the castle, dinner was soon over, and the four parted ways.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Yes, this was a really fast update. This is mostly because that a lot of this was supposed to be in the previous chapter, but I decided that the chapter would be way too long if I kept it there. _Cassidy98_ suggested with a review that Hermione and Daniel make more appearances and there they are. Thanks for reading, and please leave a review if you can. I'd love to hear your thoughts. **


	6. The Sound of Silence

Kira reached up, wiping away the beads of sweat that clung to her skin. Her cheeks were flamed, her breathing coming in short gasps, her heart pounding out a rhythm that was impossibly quick. And yet all the while, as she sped through the air on her broom, her hair flying in all directions, adrenaline spread throughout her, every inch of her absolutely and wonderfully alive. Feeling the familiar weight of the Quaffle within the palm of her hand, her eyes narrowed before she swung her arm forward, watching as it cut across the air. In front of her, Ron quickly tried to block its course, but still she watched as it sailed easily through the goal.

She grinned, before noticing the soft applause above her. She looked up to see Harry shaking his head. "Impressive, Ms. White. Poor Ron didn't stand a chance."

"I was more under the impression that you were supposed to be catching the Snitch, Mr. Potter?" she said back, even while feeling a little proud of what she'd just accomplished.

"Oh right, hold on," he said, before flying off. Within minutes the Snitch was between his fingers, leaving Kira to stare in amazement.

"Show off," Ron muttered, stopping right beside her. "I need to work on my guarding skills. Brilliant shot by the way."

"You're great at this Ron, don't worry about it. You just have to…" she searched for the right words. "Not tense up at the real game. And plus, the other team's chasers won't be as good as me," she said, grinning.

Ron groaned. "You're just as bad as Harry, sometimes, you know that Kir?"

"You mean she's as brilliant as me," Harry said, flying next to them.

"Alright you guys, that's enough," Angelina called, a distance away. "Kira, work on your passes. Ron, you're a little weak on your left side. And Harry, try not to lose focus."

"Will do, Captain," Harry called back.

"See you guys next practice then." Angelina said. It seemed such a long time ago since they made the team, but in reality, it had only been five weeks. She had to admit that she was more than just a little wary after Oliver graduated, and wondered what having Angelina as their new captain would be like. Now, after so many practices, she was grateful that Angelina was their captain. Aside from her, she couldn't think of anyone else better that would lead them to victory.

Quickly she flew down, and before long she was outside the changing rooms. "What's the hurry?" Ron asked.

"Meeting Draco afterwards. We're halfway through the potions," she said quickly.

Harry raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Kira opened her mouth to say something, only to close it again. It was no use. Ever since their fight, both she and Harry had avoided the subject. Whatever had upset Harry so much wasn't worth another fight. But still, even Kira couldn't avoid the way he disapproved. It was almost as if he knew something bad was going to happen, and was only waiting until it did.

"Again? You're obsessed with the project," Ron complained. "We don't spend enough time together."

"Ron, I only meet with him on Mondays and Wednesdays," Kir a reasoned.

"And every Potions class," he added.

"We're partners for the class, what do you expect?" Kira asked.

"But still!" Ron would have continued, but he caught the look on Kira's face. "Alright, alright, at least Halloween's coming up. That'll be fun at least, right?" But he seemed to be trying to convince himself more than anything.

"Right," she said, smiling back at Ron. "Harry, you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he said, shaking his head. "See you later, Kir," he said, before heading into the changing rooms. Ron gave a small shrug, before following him.

With a sigh, she walked in the girls' side to take a shower. The pressure of the hot water was refreshing, as her muscles relaxed, relieved of their tension. Letting go, her mind was already wandering elsewhere. Her mother had yet to respond to any of the letters, and she tried to tell herself not to think too much about it. At any rate, she hadn't really expected anything different. Instead, she caught information from the letters that were sent to her brother instead. From these letters, she was able to gather that her cousin would be having a baby boy in a couple of months, and that another one was starting to plan her marriage. Her father's business was doing well. There was nothing to worry about.

But even as her mother wrote these words, both of them knew that Daniel didn't really care. Sometimes, Kira doubted if he read them himself. Perhaps before, he would have drank in her words like she did. But he had always been overprotective of her, and after the Sorting nearly four years ago, after seeing the way that their parents would now treat her, he couldn't see them in the same light again. She took a deep breath, trying to relax and calm herself. Daniel had tried to tell her to ignore her parents, that she owed them nothing after all of this. But how could she? There were times, yes, when she hated the things they did, when she cringed in fear, but there was always a part of her that still remembered how it felt when her mother held her all those years before, that remembered the words of encouragement her father had given. At this, her eyes easily reddened, tears threatening to drop out.

Quickly she wiped the few that escaped away. Kira closed her eyes, shutting out the images at the same time. It was pointless to over think, but even knowing that, it didn't help her from not thinking. Automatically her mind pulled back to what happened only last night…

_"So I was telling Tristan about how we should focus more on the-" Daniel's words only washed over her, barely going into her ears. Instead her focus was upon the letter that she still clutched in her hand, the one that she had asked to see from Daniel again. She stared at the paper, her eyes moving over the familiar elegant script that she knew could only be written in by her mother. Again, she read the words, as if a repeat could bring more meaning than it had before. _

_**Christmas is nearing, and we can hardly wait to see you again. I know, it's only still October, but we have plans this year. We've already begun to ready our winter place in France, and both your father and I have made arrangements at work, and we'll be able to take some time off. Won't it be wonderful, just the three of us as a family once more?**_

_The three of them. A family. In the letter, they seemed to be friendly, even loving. But they weren't addressed to her. They were meant for Daniel and Daniel only. _

_"What's wrong?" Daniel asked, concerned. When Kira remained speechless, he started to read the letter over her shoulder. He himself hadn't bothered to read the letter yet. There were no words that their parents would possibly say that he hadn't heard already. But as his eyes neared the bottom of the parchment, his frown became deeper and more pronounced. Taking the letter from her, he ripped it clear in half, then again, and again. "Ignore them," he said, shaking his head, furious at what they dared to write. "I'm not going back anyways. We'll have our own Christmas here in Hogwarts." _

_Kira shook her head. "Don't. You should go back and see them. They miss you."_

_"Not without you," he said._

_"Christmas is a time for family," she murmured._

_"And that's exactly why I'm staying. We'll work something out," he said, determined. Looking back at Kira, he sighed, before wrapping his arms around her. "Hey, look, I wouldn't have gone back anyways."_

_"You should though. The only reason you're upset is because of me. If it wasn't for me-" _

_"But here you are. It doesn't matter what could have happened, or what might have happened. All that matters is what's happening now. And right now, I'm telling you that I want to spend my Christmas with you, okay?" He pulled back, then seeing the uncertainty on her face. "Okay?" he repeated._

_"Okay."_

She smiled, shaking her head. Without Daniel, where would she be? Lost within her own mind, it was easy to lose track of time. After stepping out of the steam, she glanced at the clock before groaning. She was going to be late.

* * *

Draco slowly stirred the Amortentia, watching as the contents swirled, now transparent. It took a surprising amount of self-restraint not to look at the clock again. But when he did allow himself to look, he saw that she was more than twenty minutes late already. Quickly thinking back, he wondered if he had said anything offending last Potions class. Was that why she wasn't here?

It had only been five weeks, and it seemed that he knew her for at least half a year. Through the small questions they asked each meeting, he had found out so much.

He learned that she loved the rain and everything about it.  
He learned that she was scared of heights, but felt completely at ease on a broom.  
He learned that she hated the sound of silence (she was convinced it was a sound) because she was afraid of being alone.

But then there were the things that he noticed without her telling him, small things that he kept stored in his mind without noticing. Slowly, he had begun to notice the faint scent of strawberries that followed her. He noticed how she forced herself to smile every moment. And he caught how her smile faltered at times, and how she would try to conceal it. It was faint, but it was there.

Now though, he wondered if he had imagined most of what he had thought he noticed. He frowned at the potion. It had been stupid to think that she truly thought of him as a friend, after so short a time. Probably she was spending her time laughing with Pothead and the Weasel again, probably even laughing about him. The thought made him scowl. He had stopped calling them such names in front of her, but the thought of thinking about her with them was annoying and frustrating.

He glared at the potion again, stirring it faster. She was the one that had decided that they should be "friends". She was the one that had insisted that they worked together. His eyes flickered to the clock again. And she was the one that was now officially more than thirty minutes late. Really, did she really think she could just stand him up like this? He scowled. It was just like her, wasn't it? Just because he was a Slytherin, it didn't mean that she could do this. And really, how could she-

His train of thought broke off as the door opened, and in came Kira. "You're late," he said, his voice harsh.

"I know," she said, before coming up next to him. "Quidditch… I lost track of time, and-"

"You don't have to make excuses," he said crisply. Unbelievable. Hadn't he told her that Quidditch was going to get in the way? "Spend time with Potter and Weasley on your own time," he said, continuing to stir, his stirring becoming faster and more furious.

"It wasn't because of that, I-"

"I said, I don't want to hear it," he said, looking away from the potion, only to glare at her. During the few moments that he hadn't paid attention, some of the potion spilled out of the sides, splashing onto his hand. He cursed under his breath as the potion burned on his skin. He turned the fire off quickly, but then was at a loss for what to do next. Amortentia, when properly brewed, would have no effect upon physical contact. But the potion wasn't complete, and already his hand was throbbing with pain. He tried to wipe the liquid off, before flinching at the pain.

"Don't do that," Kira said. She hesitated, before pulling out her wand. Gently, she took his hand in hers, pointing her wand at where the potion had made contact. He had half a mind to pull his hand away, still annoyed at her being late, but the pain prevented him from doing that. In complete concentration, she murmured softly, and slowly he felt a cooling sensation spreading under his skin. In only a few seconds, the pain that had been there before had disappeared, his skin no longer an angry red. He looked at the girl, wondering where she had learned this. It was only then that he took in how her eyes were slightly red, and her hair still wet from the shower. "You'll have to probably ice it later," she said frowning.

"Thank you," he muttered, pulling his hand back. She only nodded, before starting the fire again, slowly stirring the liquid herself. "Kira," he said, looking away. "I'm sorry, about before. I… overreacted."

She shook her head. "It's okay. I really was late, anyways."

He took a seat next to her. "Dry your hair at least. You're going to get sick," he said.

"Huh?" Her hand automatically went up to her hair. "Oh, I forgot," she said, grinning again. He was struck again by how she could still find happiness at any time. Waving her wand, her hair was dry the next moment, and she said, "Thanks."

He nodded. "Are you okay?" he asked, trying to make it sound like he didn't really care.

There was a pause in her stirring before she nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a lot on my mind." Her smile had disappeared again, and he swiftly changed the subject.

"So did you hear about the Slytherin-Ravenclaw challenge?"

"The what?" Kira asked.

"Well just yesterday on the pitch, us and the Ravenclaw team got into a fight about whose turn it was to use the pitch."

Kira thought for a moment. "I thought you guys had it? Angelina was complaining about how Snape plainly favored your team just before."

"Anyways, we ended up going from whose turn it was, to arguing about our skills. Daniel on the team, that would be your brother, proposed that we have a mock match two weeks later, to settle it. The winning team would be able to use a practice session from the losing team for two months." Kira winced, thinking about it.

"High stakes here," she muttered. "Isn't that just like Daniel?" she said, before grinning. "Well, it's certainly going to be interesting." She thought for a moment. "You know, I've never really seen you play. I mean, sure, I see you during the Gryffindor-Slytherin matches, but I'm usually focused on the Quaffle during the games."

On a whim, he suddenly said, "Come watch us then. Maybe you'll actually be able to learn something from watching us professionals play."

Kira rolled her eyes. "You're pretty bad at this if you were just trying to invite me."

Draco chose to ignore this part. "And then there'll be the party in the Slytherin Common Room after we win."

"If you win," she corrected. "You don't know yet."

"Do you honestly think that we're going to lose to Ravenclaw?" he asked, incredulous.

"Well… no… but I heard they've really gotten better this year," she defended.

"Well, when we win, you could come with us."

"To the Slytherin party?"

Draco shrugged. "Why not? You'll get the chance to meet some of my friends instead, and you haven't lived until you've been to a Slytherin party."

Kira rolled her eyes. "That's if you win."

Draco looked away again. "You don't have to go, it was just an idea-"

"No. I'll go," she said, grinning again. "It'll be fun. And you're right, I haven't met any of your friends before. Hopefully they're not all as egocentric as you-"

"Hey!"

"And plus, Daniel's always been going on about how great the parties are."

Draco laughed softly. "That would probably be because he's usually the one throwing them."

"If you win, of course."

He smirked. "That goes without saying."

She laughed, shaking her head. Now, it was easy to talk again, and they fell into easy conversation. Tonight, she learned that he had been forced to learn piano years ago, his mother claiming that it was sophisticated. What had been unexpected was how he had at last grown to love it. He promised to show her one day. In return, Draco found that Kira loved singing, and now that she mentioned it, he could easily imagine how her voice would sound with notes and melodies.

Awhile later, she glanced at their notes again, before adding the last ingredient. Waving her wand, the fire dimmed, turning into a light blue flame. Once she was satisfied with the fire, she started stirring again. "Tell me about your friends?"

The Slytherin thought for a moment before starting. "There's Pansy."

"Parkinson?"

"Is there any other?" he asked, smirking. "It was basically a parents-know-each-other, children-become-friends sort of thing. I've known her since… well since I was a kid, really." Although he had to admit to himself, that she wasn't the nicest person around. Sure, she was pleasant to the people that she was close to, but outside of that, she could be quite harsh. "You know Blaise already, I suppose."

"He's the one working with Hermione," she said, remembering.

"What do you know about him so far?"

"Only that Hermione is easily frustrated by him," she said. "Especially because he's so laid back. But apparently he's really smart, because Hermione's stopped complaining about him after working with him for a couple of classes."

"He's brilliant," he said, shaking his head. "Yeah. He's, well, my best mate. He's… hard to describe." Draco thought for a moment more. "It doesn't matter to him, what you look like, who your parents are. To him, it's how you act. He's always very relaxed, I suppose, and he loves partying. Nothing surprises him. But, whenever you really need someone, he'll be there to listen. He acts like he doesn't really care sometimes, but he'll be the first to defend his friends."

Kira smiled. "He sounds great." She thought back to the dark haired boy that he was currently describing. In these five years, what had stood out the most about him in her mind was how carefree he could be.

"He'd like you," he said, before realizing that it was true. If Blaise gave this girl a chance, taking in the energy that she always brought around her, a whirlwind that changed everything in her path, and yet somehow keeping the world from collapsing into chaos.

"You think so?" she asked, looking at him.

"Of course. If I can stand you, then why wouldn't he?" he replied. He looked away when he said this, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Kira bit her lip, trying to hide another smile. In the end, she turned back to the potion, stirring carefully. "Thank you." The potion suddenly turned clear, and she turned off the fire.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, quickly nearing to look inside the cauldron.

"Nothing. We're done. Now the potion has to sit for a week, and then the potion will be complete." Carefully she levitated the cauldron to a nearby shelf, before starting to clean up.

"Finally. We're almost done."

"Oh come on, working with me isn't that bad," Kira said, joking.

"We can just spend time together doing something that doesn't have to do with potions," he reasoned, before laughing a little. Draco helped her gather the leftover materials, placing them carefully into the jars and cabinets.

For the first time that night, Kira looked at the clock, only to let out a small gasp. "Shoot, we're going to pass curfew," she realized, before grabbing her bag and things.

"Wait what?" It was hard to believe, but time had somehow escaped without their knowing. "Come on, hurry up," he said, and they both ran out. They ran for awhile before stopping near the Grand Staircase. "I think we can make it," he said, looking around.

Kira shook her head. "Wow time really passed by fast," she said, before gesturing up the staircase. "Night Draco."

"Night. Don't forget, you said you're coming to the Quidditch match," he reminded, even though he knew he'd see her again just tomorrow for Potions.

"Of course I won't forget. Besides, it'd be nice to see you winning for once," she teased.

"You'll see," he muttered, before smirking and leaving. Kira bit her lip, it taking her a few moments before she started going upstairs. It took her awhile before she was settled into bed in the tower. So much had changed over the last few weeks that even she was surprised. Five weeks ago, she wouldn't have thought it possible that they became such good friends. Five weeks ago, she wouldn't have thought it was possible to get along so well with a Slytherin. And it was a few days later that she realized the last one. Five weeks ago, she wouldn't have dreamt of Draco Malfoy.

* * *

**A/N: **

**It took me awhile longer to finish this one up, and I'm not sure how happy I am with it right now. There's more about Kira and Daniel, and it was this that I was mostly stuck on. Although it might seem a little ambiguous now, it's essential to the plot and will clear up later. **

**Again, comments and reviews will be greatly appreciated, and thank you so much for reading!**


	7. Spiraling Out of Control

"You're what?" Hermione asked, staring at her best friend. The two of them were in the dormitory. Hermione had been in the middle of rereading _Hogwarts: A History_, when something Kira said had caught the witch's attention.

"Didn't I tell you?" Kira asked, flipping through the clothes in her luggage. She was sure she had put it somewhere around here.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You might have forgotten to mention it."

"Well, yeah, Draco and I made a deal that if he won the Quidditch match today, I'd go with him to the Slytherin party." Kira stared at the shirt she just pulled out. "Do you think it'll be cold today? Maybe I shouldn't wear this one there."

"Why are you choosing an outfit already? He might not win. And honestly Kira, how could you have forgotten to tell me about this?"

"It was an honest mistake!" she said, holding up her hands defensively.

"Yeah, of course, it was really an 'honest mistake' that you didn't tell me anything about how you're going, willingly might I add, to a party with those snakes."

"Be nice," she said automatically, before putting the shirt back. "Definitely too cold. And of course they'll win."

"And if they don't?"

"If they don't, they'll still have a party anyways," Kira said, shrugging. "What about this one?" she said, holding up a warm purple top.

Hermione shook her head. "Kira… it's purple."

Kira sighed, before looking through the case again.

"And how are you so sure that they're having a party?"

"Daniel and the guys are planning it."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "And what are they up to this time?"

"Oh, well, you know how we finished the Amortentia last week?"

"What about it?" Hermione asked. "This one," she then added, tossing her something out of her trunk. Trusting Hermione's judgment on this, she took it and started changing.

Kira turned around to look at her. "We only turned in a portion of it," she admitted. "After all, we made double the amount that was required, just to make sure you know? And since, there wasn't any point in turning it all in…" her voice trailed off.

"Let me get this straight. You each kept a part of the love potion for yourselves?" Hermione asked, before groaning. "Kira!"

"It wasn't just us! I gave some to Daniel too, because he said he wanted some."

"How does he even know that you're working with Malfoy?"

Kira shrugged. "He doesn't. I just mentioned the love potion recently, and he said he wanted to have some to get back at someone at the party. Apparently he's going to make his own adjustments."

"And you're letting him? No, wait, you're helping him?" Hermione asked, shaking her head.

"I don't think I'm using my portion anyways, and it won't be doing much harm. With the amount we each kept, it can't last for more than a week at most." She stared at herself in the mirror. Complete with the new boots that she had gotten with Hermione last summer, she was now wearing a white and gold long sleeved top, with the slightly torn black jeans that she was borrowing from Hermione. "Well? What do you think?"

Hermione looked over at Kira, before saying, "Stunning of course. I picked out some of it for you, what did you expect?" Kira laughed before reaching for her wand and making sure her hair was straight. "Does Harry know?"

Kira shook her head. "Why Harry?"

Hermione avoided answering her. "He's not going to be happy if he finds out," she said. "Do you have to go?"

"'Mione, I promised. And plus, I want to go." Kira paused for a moment before saying, "Draco asked, and it would be really nice to meet his friends for once," she admitted. Seeing Hermione's doubt, she added, "Draco's my friend now, remember?"

"Are you sure that's all he is to you?" Hermione muttered, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

Kira whirled around, staring at Hermione. "And what do you mean by that?"

"Don't give me that, Kira. I think we both know that you like him a little too much for your own good." Hermione examined her nails, before frowning. "You two have been getting really close recently."

Kira laughed easily at this. "You're thinking too much, Hermione."

"Am I really?" Hermione looked closely at Kira. "Sometimes I'm not sure if you know it yourself, but you treat him differently. Talk about him differently."

"Hermione, I treat him the same way I treat Harry and Ron. That doesn't mean-"

"And he treats you differently too. Do you keep the fact that he's a Malfoy in your mind?"

"And I told you, it doesn't matter that he's a Malfoy," Kira continued. "And he doesn't treat me differently," she said before laughing again. "Honestly, Hermione, where are you getting these ideas?"

Hermione muttered something incomprehensive before shaking her head. "Just be careful," she said, with a tired sigh.

"When am I not?" Kira joked. "Thanks though, Hermione," she said, in a more serious tone.

The witch just waved her off. "Go on, or the match is going to start without you," she said.

"Sure you're not coming?"

Hermione shook her head. "It's too cold outside, and you know Quidditch has never been one of my interests."

Kira rolled her eyes before smirking. "Of course, you're only interested when Ron's playing," she teased, making Hermione blush.

"Just go already," she muttered. "I think the boys said they'd meet you on the pitch."

"Got it, thanks!" Wrapping a scarlet scarf around her neck, Kira left the dormitories, hurrying downstairs. She could hear the announcer as she ran down the stairs, his voice booming from the field. By the time she finally reached the pitch, the game was well on its way. Ron was waving towards her from one of the stands, and she slipped into the empty space next to Harry.

"Who's winning?" Kira asked, breathless.

"Slytherin, 50-20," Harry said, scowling. She scanned the skies, immediately seeing her brother. With the Quaffle in possession, he spun around in the air, before throwing it easily into the hoop.

"Show off," Ron said, amused. "He's been doing that all game. Anyways, what took you so long?" he asked without really looking away from sky.

"Oh you know, choosing the perfect outfit and everything, chatting with Hermione. The usual."

Harry looked over at Kira, before his eyes widened. "And what's the special occasion?" he asked.

"Oh, um, well, I thought I'd, you know, go with Daniel to the Slytherin party afterwards. He invited me, and apparently he's pretty excited about it, and so he really wanted to bring me along for once," Kira said, having forgotten that she hadn't told Harry and Ron yet. The lie slipped easily out of her lips before she realized what she had really said. For some reason, she had no desire to tell them about Draco.

"Traitor," Ron murmured, but he grinned, letting her know that he wasn't really mad about it. After all, if she was going with her brother, there was nothing wrong with that.

"Hmm." Harry remained silent other than that, his eyes focused on the game again. Kira stared for a short moment, knowing that somehow, she had said something wrong. No, she knew that she had said something wrong. It was that Harry somehow knew that bothered her. Confused, she tried to think of something else to say, but was saved by the sudden uproar from the Slytherins.

"And another goal by White! Slytherin leads 70-20. Looks like Ravenclaw will have some catching up to do," the announcer said, the voice booming from the stand. It was an unofficial match, but the wizard had his voice magically amplified, so that it resonated from where he sat. From a quick look she could tell that she didn't know him by name. Only the green of his robes revealed to her that he was a Slytherin.

"70 -20," Ron said, shaking his head. "Ravenclaw doesn't stand a chance." She looked up at the sky again, looking around for Daniel again, but instead finding Draco. Without thinking, she smiled. Despite the easygoing way that he had talked about the match before, his eyes were serious as he searched for a glint of gold among the clouds. So high up, she couldn't see him in clear detail, but seeing him concentrated on one thing like this made her smile even more. But it wasn't only that. She had a feeling that even if he hadn't turned around, she would have recognized his figure. Draco turned again, looking for the Snitch on the other side of the pitch. It took him only seconds to spot her, and he smiled back. Immediately, something changed and it was shocking that people around her couldn't hear the loud thumping of her heart. Of all things that would pop into her mind at the moment, it was Hermione's words from earlier, causing her to blush.

Suddenly Draco swerved, diving down at an incredible speed. Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw seeker realized that he had seen something that she hadn't and frantically chased after him. "Oh looks like Malfoy has spotted something! Bad luck Chang, looks like this isn't your day." Kira's eyes intently followed Draco's figure as he determinedly continued to dive, seemingly without any desire to stop any time soon. Cho had no chance of catching up to him, nearly four feet behind him. Her breath caught in her throat. If he didn't pull out of the dive now, at the speed he was going… The game, the screaming crowds, the announcer, all faded, and all she could focus on was him. But then there was a glint of gold, and Draco's arm reached out, before his fingers closed around the Golden Snitch, pulling neatly out of the dive with almost no effort.

"He's done it! Slytherin wins 220-20! It's over!" the announcer yelled across the Pitch. She breathed out, releasing the air that she had not realized she had been holding. A smile broke out across her face. She stood up, ready to congratulate Draco, but then stopped when she heard Ron speak.

"Merlin, that was just embarrassing for Ravenclaw," Ron said, in almost disgust. "They won the Cup quite a few times already, but what was that? Slytherin demolished them!" Then he looked over at Kira. "What are you smiling about anyways? Ravenclaw just lost!"

"We were never cheering for them, were we?" Kira asked.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Kir, you don't get it. Even if we don't really like the Ravenclaw team, them winning would have been better than Slytherin. No, anything would have been better than Slytherin. And if you really think about it, think about how this will impact us for the Cup! Slytherin's in the advantage with extra Pitch time, and then…" Ron's rant went on to cover the various ways their chances of winning had diminished from that small match. Somewhere in the middle, she had tuned out. It was here that she noticed Harry's unusual silence.

"Harry, don't tell me you were cheering for Ravenclaw too," she said, shaking her head. "They had no chance. You must have known that."

"Shouldn't you go congratulate your brother?" Harry asked, stiffly, leaving Kira confused.

"Well… I suppose…"

"I'm sure he can't wait to go to that Slytherin party with you, especially since you were invited," he continued. Something about his tone left her feeling annoyed.

"Is that what this is about? Me going without you? Harry, there are plenty of things that-"

"When did he invite you?"

"That…" What was she supposed to say here? "Last week, I suppose. Or maybe two days ago. Does that really matter? Harry, what are you-"

"Here's the weird thing that I can't figure out," Harry said, cutting in. "You know before the match, I saw Daniel and wished him luck." None of Harry's words were making sense, and she couldn't understand how this had anything to do with what they had been speaking about. "The strange part comes in here. He asked me to give you this later while we studied in the Common Room tonight," he said, taking out an envelope which she took. It was a letter.

"Harry… what are you trying to say?"

"Seems pretty weird for him to be asking that when he's looking forward to partying with you tonight, doesn't it?" Harry said, stonily. Kira was puzzled for a moment before the meaning truly sank in.

"What are you talking about, Harry?" Ron asked. "Kira just told us that he invited her last week. Why would he think that she's studying with us?"

"Oh I don't know, ask Kira," Harry said, his eyes not leaving her.

Kira shook her head. "Harry… I…" What could she say? "Truth is, Draco… he invited me awhile ago."

"He what?" Ron asked, confused. "When?"

"It's… you know… just two weeks ago," she murmured.

"And you didn't tell us?" Ron asked, incredulous. "Wait no, hang on. You lied to us!"

"Ron… it's nothing, really. I just promised to go if they won, and it's just a party," Kira said.

"Yeah, a party that you didn't want to tell us about. One that you'd lie about," Harry scoffed. "Nice to know that you trust us so much."

"Draco's my friend-"

"And we aren't?" Ron asked, more hurt than upset.

It seemed impossible that things were spiraling out of control so quickly. "Of course you are! Both of you, all of you. You know that."

"So why'd you lie to us?" Harry asked, quietly.

"I…" Why had she lied? She had always hated lying, no matter how trivial the matter was. Ron and Harry were upset not because of the party, but because she chose to keep it from them. No, instead she lied. Keeping it from them would have been different. "I didn't want to make you guys disappointed in me…" she said at last, knowing that it was no excuse.

Harry scoffed before shaking his head. "You don't have to worry about that. You already have." With this, he turned and started walking away.

"Ron…" But what was she supposed to say?

"Don't," he said.

"Ron, hurry up," Harry called back. With a last shake of his head, Ron went to join Harry. With a sigh, she sank back onto the stands. All throughout the last few weeks, she had looked forward to this night. It was hard to explain or understand, how something as simple as this would excite her so much. But as far as she knew, it was another step towards getting closer to Draco, something that she now understood she wanted very much. But why was it that while she was getting closer to him, she was driving the others further and further away? Sometime between the fight, the teams had left and the crowd dispersed, and now she found herself alone there. She had promised to meet Draco back in the classroom, so he could lead her to the Slytherin Common Room. But now, she wasn't sure if she wanted to go anymore.

"What kind of sister are you?" someone said from behind her. She turned around, wondering what it was that she did wrong this time, only to see Daniel look down at her with a grin. "Don't a receive some sort of congratulations? One of those 'oh my gosh Daniel, I can't believe how incredible you were in all those brilliant goals'?"

Even in the mood that she was, he made her laugh. "Yes yes, you were amazing. That good enough?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Not even close. One day you'll learn to appreciate my skills." He looked over her. "Well you look dressed up."

"A top and jeans? Hardly."

"Plans tonight?"

"Going with a friend to the Slytherin party," she admitted. She looked at him closely for any telltale signs that he would suddenly overreact. Daniel was normally easygoing, but there were moments when he could become overprotective. He was silent for a moment, as if contemplating something.

"Finally realized our Slytherin charm?" he said at last, and Kira relaxed.

"I suppose," she said, standing up.

"So who's this friend?"

"I think you know him. Draco Malfoy?"

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "Know him? The Slytherin Prince… who doesn't? The question is, how'd you two know each other?"

"He's my Potions partner, remember?" she reminded him.

"You never told me that," he said, shaking his head as they started walking back towards the castle. Kira thought back to the conversations they had. True, she had told Daniel all about the potions they were making, but she didn't have any recollection whatsoever of mentioning Draco's name. The moments that they had spent together in the classroom were somehow precious, private even, and she had never had the urge to tell these things to anyone. Even to Hermione, she had only divulged a small portion of what they had spoken about, what they had done.

"Guess I forgot," she said. There was so much she hadn't told any of them, especially Harry and Ron. "Where are the other guys?" she asked, quickly changing the subject, before she got upset over everything. They never fought. Ever. In fact, before Draco, she had never fought with any of them before.

"They're getting ready for the party of course.

"Well…"

"Hmm?"

Daniel cleared his throat in an uncomfortable manner, his tone awkward. "Just… you know… be careful tonight. Don't do anything you shouldn't, and you know, just watch out, and I'm going to be there, and if you need me… well just… and yeah, if any of them upset you, I'll do something about it so don't worry about it, and-"

Kira laughed. It was cute how protective Daniel could be at times, however much he tried to appear as if he didn't care. "Don't worry Daniel. I know." She reached over and pulled him into a hug. "Thanks."

"Kira! Ah seriously, you can be such a girl sometimes," Daniel complained. But despite all of his protests, she could still see the smile that had appeared on his face. "Now go find your date and have fun."

Kira raised her eyebrows as they entered the doors and into the hallway. "He's not my date," she said.

"Whatever you say. If you ask me, you two seem to be spending an awful amount of time together," he teased.

"Good thing that I'm not asking you then," she retorted before seeing Tristan running towards them.

"There you are! The match should have ended like, what, twenty minutes ago? Look I got it all ready, and if we just-" he was holding something in his hand and waving it about, before suddenly stopping as he realized that they weren't alone. "Oh, hey Kira," he said, cutting himself off.

"What are you guys up this time?" Kira asked, suspicious.

"Nothing you should be worrying your pretty little head over," Ryan said, before ruffling her hair.

"Hey! It took me ages to get it neat again," she protested, before taking out her wand and muttering a spell.

"Yeah, I can totally see how that took 'ages'," Ryan said, before laughing.

"Alright alright, let's go already! We still have to…" Tristan said, before looking over at her again, almost apologetically. "Sorry Kira, can't tell you, what would be the fun in that?"

"It's okay, Tris."

"Anyways, we have to get moving," he said again, before dragging Daniel away.

"Calm down already, sheesh. See you later Kir!" Daniel called back.

"You're coming?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, figured I should see how brilliant these parties you guys are always bragging about really are," she joked.

"Good," he said. "I should know, I mean, I help throw them. See you tonight then, things to get ready, you know," he said, with a grin, before walking away. Shaking her head at their absurdity, she started down toward the stairs. It was easy for her smile to slip away as she was alone. How long would it be before the others calmed down? She had to admit that it was absolutely and completely her fault. Harry would be upset for days, and as long as he was, Ron would be too. Hermione would disapprove of her actions. She'd be disappointed.

She stopped in front of the door, her hand brushing against the wood. It had become so familiar to her now, and yet she was fully aware that after tonight, things would be different. But better? Or worse? Taking a deep breath, she opened it and stepped in.

"Thought you weren't coming," a voice said from within. Draco had already changed, a simple green shirt, and some black pants. But then upon closer examination, it was plain that these clothes were not picked up from an average store. There were subtle hints that reminded her of her brother's clothes, the ones that were designed specifically in Milan, or Paris. Expensive, but tasteful.

"I promised, didn't I?" she said, before smiling.

"And?"

"And… what?"

"Well, what'd you think?" he asked, smirking. "Told you I'm great at Quidditch?"

She pretended to look thoughtful, sitting on one of the desks. "Mhmm… I don't know… you were okay I suppose."

"Okay?" Draco repeated. "Did you even see that dive? And then the speed and control and-"

"It was amazing," she cut in. "I've never seen anyone fly like that before," she admitted. Not with so much grace, so much control.

"Yeah well." Despite his boasting before, now that he had finally gotten a compliment out of her, he could only shrug.

"How did you pull out of it so fast?" she asked, the Quidditch side of her escaping.

Draco walked over before saying, "It's the angle of the dive, all about shifting your balance."

"Uh-huh… that really didn't make any sense, Draco. At all."

"I'll teach you some time if you want," he suggested.

Unreasonably, her heart sped up at these words again. She knew that it didn't mean anything. After all, it would be a friendly flying lesson between, well just that, friends. But her body simply wouldn't listen to reason. "That would be nice," Kira finally said, confused by her own responses. With each passing minute beside him, the more she was forced to admit that Hermione had the right idea.

Draco took her hesitation differently. "Kira, you don't have to come if you don't want to," he said. It really had been a silly idea to ask her along.

"What makes you think I don't want to come?" she asked, confused. "Well unless, you don't want me to come," she quickly said. "I don't mind, I mean, it might be a little weird for you, wouldn't it? For you to bring in a Gryffindor and all."

"No no, that's nothing." If the Slytherins wanted to gossip about that, it was perfectly fine with him. Perhaps a couple of months ago, he would have been repulsed at the idea of bringing a Gryffindor girl to a party, but now, he couldn't think of a better person to bring along. Of course, if it was someone like Hermione, well, that was a whole other story. "I'm just saying that well, if you don't want to…"

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'm actually really excited about it," she said, grinning. "Maybe we should get going. Your friends are probably waiting for you?" Truthfully, she wouldn't have minded staying another few moments alone with him, and neither would Draco. But he couldn't ignore the fact that Blaise was most likely waiting impatiently, and Pansy absolutely hated tardiness, even in a party.

"Come on, it's this way," he said. He swung off the table and opened the door for her.

"What a gentleman," she joked before stepping through.

"I always am," he said, laughing. "It's actually really close."

"So what did the others think about you bringing me?"

"Blaise was extremely interested," he said, thinking back. Perhaps a little too interested.

"And Pansy?"

"Uhh…" Draco was at a loss for words here. "Well, she's not completely against it."

Kira sighed, "Well that's to be expected. Most Slytherins aren't exactly fond of Gryffindors."

"I guess that makes me the exception."

"If I remember correctly, you hated me to begin with," Kira said, remembering the first day of class.

"Hate is a strong word, White," he said. "We had our differences," he reworded.

"You had your differences."

"Fine fine, my fault," he said, holding his hands up. "It's right here," he said, making an unexpected turn. "Plus you can't exactly blame me. How was I supposed to know you were different?"

"You could have looked closer."

"And then what?"

"Maybe you would have seen something different then," she said, looking back at him. The words would have sounded strange coming from anyone else. But from her, it was exactly right.

"So… were you looking?"

"I found you, didn't I?" she said, smiling.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" he asked, as they stopped. Although they were right in front of the entrance, he did not speak the password. Suddenly what they were talking about was more important than anything, and he realized that this was what he had wanted to ask her for days.

"Hmm?"

"You were looking for something… special." He shrugged. "Did you find it?"

She took in everything he was again, and everything he wasn't. Everything that she had learned about him in, had it only been a little more than a month? Then she flashed back to what Hermione had said, and then everything she had felt around him. And in that moment, she knew that Hermione had been just as right as she had always been. She nodded, fully aware of the intent look he was giving her. She nodded. "Yes, I suppose I did."

His eyes seemed to be searching for something, and then he continued. "Kira, actually there was something I wanted to-"

But at that moment, the entrance opened on its own to reveal a raven-haired teenager. "There you are! Draco, what took you so long? Hurry up and get in already," he said, before pulling him in. "You too," he said, grinning at Kira. Curious as she was about what he had been about to say, she couldn't help but laugh a little.

The noise of the music washed over her as the door shut swiftly behind them. Lights flashed around the area, bringing color through the darkness. Yet one could not ignore how everything seemed to scream Slytherin, with the emerald decorations and silver bands. Already Slytherins were flooding the place, and she smiled again.

"What do you think?" the boy asked, his smile friendly. It didn't matter to him that he had just interrupted them, or how he hadn't the faintest idea what her name was, and that was just as fine for Kira.

"Brilliant."

And so the party began.

* * *

**A/N: First of all, I'm really sorry that this update came so late. I figured that this would be up by last week, at the very latest. But with the club elections and research paper chaos, I somehow couldn't get this chapter to turn out the way I wanted it to. But I'm really happy to have finally gotten it out, and I hope that I haven't lost any readers because of this.**

**As for the story itself, the party will be in the next chapter as it would have taken up too much space to be in this one. What do you think about the pace of the story though? **

**And of course, thank you as always for reading! Drop a review with any comments, suggestions, or anything you want to say! **


	8. Please Don't Stop the Music

His name was Blaise Zabini. Perhaps a part of her had known that. After all, it would have been nearly impossible not to know his name after a little more than four years in the same classes.

In the last ten minutes, she could already see that most of them had been completely wrong about him. In the past, those that weren't his friends regarded him as a bad influence. There had been rumors circulating about his mother and his always changing stepfather. It was more than suspicious that all four of men had died in mysterious deaths, leaving the Zabinis more than enough gold. With these, there were many outside of his house that kept away from him, judging him for his mother's actions.

Kira never put much stock into the rumors. And if they were true, she kept them from clouding her judgment. But the teenager himself had never been approachable, and there had been little that brought them together. She supposed she should haven't have been surprised at how free he was, his easygoing manner that seemed a great contrast compared to others.

"So, is this her?" Blaise asked, nodding towards Kira.

"Yeah, Blaise, this is Kira White," Draco introduced. "Kira, Blaise."

"I know her name," Blaise said, before grinning. "So you're the one."

"The one?" Kira repeated, amused.

"The mysterious girl that Draco keeps talking about over and over again," Blaise clarified.

"Blaise!" Draco protested, while Kira looked curious.

"I only found out you were a Gryffindor two weeks ago, and still he wouldn't tell me who you were. Although I suppose I should have figured it out that you would turn out to be his partner in Potions," he mused, as Kira chuckled.

"You talk about me then?" Kira asked, facing Draco.

Slightly embarrassed, Draco shrugged, as Blaise shook his head. "Oh they were all good things, no worries. He's more bordering the line of obsession, if you ask me."

"It's a good thing we're not asking you then," Draco said, glaring at his friend. But even here, Kira could see how his glare was not truly meant, and here that she understood how close the two of them really were.

"What took you so long?" Kira was sure that she had heard the voice before, its angry tone, but she couldn't quite name the female that spoke it. At least, until she turned around to see Pansy Parkinson. The words weren't even directed at her but at Draco who was next to her.

"Relax, Pansy," Blaise said. "He's here, isn't he?"

She chose to ignore him. "Well?"

"The match," Draco replied simply, not surprised at Pansy's reaction.

"Which ended, what, two hours ago?" Pansy asked, exasperated.

"He had to find Kira," Blaise pointed out. "Kira, this is Pansy, although I would think that you would probably know each other by now," he said.

"Hi," Kira said, with a friendly smile.

For the first time that night, Pansy actually acknowledged the girl that was in front of her. "Oh, it's you," she muttered, before turning back to Draco again.

"Be nice," Draco said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh whatever, let's go dance already!" Pansy said, pulling Draco along.

"Wait Pansy, but-" Draco looked back at Kira.

"Just go," Kira said, laughing.

"Ah, Pansy!" Draco protested, but relenting. He gave her an apologetic look before going to the dance floor with Pansy. Now that he was gone, she felt a little out of place here. After all, who else did she know?

"Don't worry about her," Blaise said, shrugging. "I know she might be a little too much sometimes, but she's…" he thought a moment for the right words. "She can be a really great friend once she likes you," he said.

"And I suppose the key words would be 'once she likes you'?" Kira said, turning towards Blaise. It bothered her slightly that Pansy was already against her to begin with.

"She's like that to begin with, with other people. But she'll warm up to you eventually, once she gives you a chance," he said, grinning.

"And you?" she asked, curious.

"Well, Draco obviously is drawn to you for some reason. And if he likes you, well… that's good enough for me," he admitted.

Kira laughed, surprised by Blaise's full trust in Draco. "Thanks, Blaise."

"No problem. Now, last time I checked, this was a party. So, would you like to dance, White?" he asked, smirking as he held out his hand.

"Slytherins," she said, rolling her eyes jokingly, as she took it.

"Don't you just love us?" he said, before chuckling himself. He led her out onto the dance floor, the music already taking over. She let herself give into the fast notes as they chased each other one after another. Already, her arms were wild among the sea of others, her body pulsing to the beat and rhythm. Yet somehow, she possessed a grace that in her movements, her moves not chaotic, but smooth. "Draco didn't say you could dance," Blaise said, amused, dancing himself.

"I don't think he knows just yet," she said. She certainly hadn't mentioned how she loved to party herself, if not only because it was one of the only times that she didn't have to be restricted, that she was free. In that moment, no one would judge her, try to reprimand her. There were no unspoken disappointments from those around her, and it was this that she loved, the way she could live, just live, without being bound and tied up in her own thoughts and chaotic mind.

"It's not surprising though, after meeting your brother of course."

"Now he can be a little too much," she murmured.

"He's amazing, almost an idol for us," he said. "Trust me, he's going to be a legend even after he leaves this school."

"That's Dan for you," she said, laughing again. It was strange that there was no awkwardness between the two of them, but right at the same time. Blaise tried showing her some of the dance moves he had somehow come up with, leaving her to collapse with laughter each time. Then they quickly discovered that they were both huge fans of the Weird Sisters, and sang along with each song, before seeing who remembered the most lyrics. It was childish, silly even, but before she knew it, Kira was having fun, enjoying every second of it.

As for Draco, he usually loved spending time with Pansy. Time with her had grown to be comfortable. Sure, sometimes her attention seeking ways did annoy him a little, but the rest of her did make up for it. But even though it was Pansy he was dancing with, Pansy he was talking with, he couldn't help but sneak glances at Kira every so often. And if he wasn't looking at them, his mind wandered over to the conversation they had right before they entered the party.

If Blaise had come a few seconds later, what would he have said to Kira? He had been so close to finally telling her… telling her that, well, he saw her as more than just a friend. His face heated at this thought again. Even that would be an understatement. No, he was forced to admit that he, Draco Malfoy, had fallen for someone. The mere thought nearly made him laugh right then.

From the conversation outside, it was almost safe to assume that Kira felt the same way. But how much was it just him reading into it? How much was really true? But no matter what, he couldn't help but be annoyed at how Kira and Blaise were getting along so well. It had taken him weeks to finally become friends (and hopefully maybe a little more) with Kira, and in a few minutes, Blaise had already surpassed that. And it was it just him, or were they dancing a little too closely together?

"Draco!"

"Wait what?" his attention pulled back to Pansy again, only to hear her sigh.

"What's so special about her anyways?" she asked, frustrated.

"About who?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't act all innocent now. The Gryffindor girl. Kala."

"it's Kira," he corrected automatically, only to receive a pointed glare from Pansy.

"It doesn't matter," she said, exasperated.

"Why are you asking that?"

"Hmm well let's see, you haven't listened to a single thing I've said all night, for the last I don't know how many weeks, all you can talk about is her, and the whole time you've been dancing with me, you've really been just staring at her. Now why would I be asking that, huh?" she said, sarcasm dripping.

Draco's brows furrowed in confusion, no longer moving. "What are you talking about? I'm here dancing with you, aren't I?"

"But you're not really here," she said, finally coming to a stop.

"Is that even supposed to make sense?"

Pansy shook her head. "Answer me."

"She's… she's just…" Draco sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I've never met anyone like her. She… really listens, you know? And she always thinks the best of everyone, and honest, and…" And what else? There was something about her, a quality around her that he couldn't quite put into words. "When I'm around her, I know who I am," he said at last.

Pansy could only shake her head again. It was unbelievable that these soft words were coming out of the mouth of the one person she would have thought she knew better than anyone else, well, aside from Blaise anyways. "You really like her, don't you?" she asked. But the words fell flat, not coming out as the question she had intended. "Does she know?"

"No, not yet," he murmured.

Pansy looked at him a little more before her expression suddenly changed into one of indifference, if not disgust. "Yeah, well, whatever," she said. "Come find me when you're back to normal. I have better things to do with my time than watch you pine over some Gryffindor." With that, she turned and started walking away.

"Pansy…" he called out. But the girl didn't turn back. He sighed as he watched her join some of her other Slytherin girls. Taking a deep breath, he instead turned and headed in the direction of Blaise and Kira.

"Are you kidding me? Okay, the lead singer might actually have a good voice, but seriously they have got to get a new drummer. Nope," he heard Blaise say, as Kira laughed, Blaise quickly joining in. Did Kira laugh like that when it was just the two of them? It was absurd that a simple girl from Gryffindor of all people could make Draco doubt himself, but still it was happening.

"Hey, I'll be right back. I want to go say hi to Dan for a moment," she said.

"Sure sure, hurry back," he said, nodding before Kira went off the dance floor to find her brother.

"Having fun?" Draco asked, finally forcing his way to Blaise.

"Don't I always? Kira here, has a brilliant taste in music, which unfortunately, I can't quite say the same about you." Blaise joked. "Horrible timing, mate. Kira's just headed off to find her brother."

"Yeah, I know, " he said, shrugging. "So what do you think of her?"

"What do I think of her? Where did you find her? She's amazing, can't believe she was sorted into Gryffindor. And that she's friends with the Trio," he said, his eyes darkening at the last word.

"She's different from them," he defended quickly.

"Relax, relax. I know. Like I said, she's great," he said, grinning.

Draco breathed out a sigh of relief. "Well at least you like her. Can't say Pansy does though."

"Ah. You know her, she'll find out that she's missing out later," he said, completely not bothered by this new piece of information. "Hold on, where's Pans anyways?" Blaise asked, having just noticed that she wasn't with them.

"With her other friends," Draco replied simply. He was greeted with an all-knowing stare from Blaise, before he shook his head.

"How in Merlin's name did you get her to be upset at you already? It hasn't even been a full hour," he said, more amused than anything.

"She thought I was paying too much attention to Kira," he said, rolling his eyes. "Which doesn't make sense whatsoever."

"Ah, she's jealous," he smirked. "After all, you do pay an excessive amount of attention to Kira."

"Not you too," he groaned.

"Did you really think I didn't notice how many times you were looking over here?" Blaise asked, shaking his head. "Never underestimate me, mate. In fact, I-"

"Hey Blaise! Draco!" someone called out, before walking up to them with two drinks in hand.

"Hey Ryan," Blaise nodded, before smirking again. As much as Daniel, Tristan, and Ryan liked to prank people, Blaise had found it more than amusing to get them back. Of course, he wasn't without help. But the look on their faces when they realized that their hair had turned pink, or when they spontaneously serenaded Professor McGonagall in the Great Hall not too long before were priceless.

"Come on, admit it, we really outdid ourselves this time. Isn't this party incredible?" Ryan said, laughing.

Draco shrugged. "It's not too bad."

"Not too bad? You mean it's amazing!" Ryan said.

"It's decent enough," Blaise said, before smirking again. "Don't get too full of yourself there."

"Oh, one day, one day, you'll be able to appreciate the pleasures of life," Ryan said. "Hey you guys thirsty?"

"Just a bit," Blaise admitted.

"Here," he said, handing them each a drink. "We got two extra by accident, so I thought you guys might want one," he said, hastily. Draco arched an eyebrow, but didn't think too much of it.

"Thanks," Draco said, before drinking it. Even before he took his first sip, he could smell the faint scent of grass, a freshly polished broomstick, and, was it strawberries? He finished the drink quickly, his thirst having become unbearable from before. "Hey, Ryan, what exactly did-" he looked up to see that Ryan had already left. "That was weird," he said, before looking over to Blaise, who was eyeing the drink.

"Wonder what they put in this," Blaise murmured, before setting the drink aside.

"Aren't you going to drink it?"

Blaise shook his head. "Who knows what Daniel put in it this time?" Looking over at Draco's empty cup, he laughed softly. "No worries, can't be anything too bad. Feel any different?"

"Not really, just warm," he murmured, before he was suddenly overcome by the need to find Kira. To say something to her. He couldn't believe that he had been so confused only a few minutes ago. Everything now simply clicked and made sense. This was it. "I'm going to look for Kira right now," he said quickly, before walking away.

Meanwhile, it hadn't taken Kira very long to find her brother. In some ways, he was very much the life of the party, and people simply gravitated towards him and his friends. Always as observant as ever, he had spotted her before she could say anything.

"And if it isn't my favorite sister," Daniel said, smirking.

"Are you really beginning that again?" Kira asked, rolling her eyes.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Kira asked. Her brother could be beyond her sometimes .

"Well what do you think?" he said, his smirk not diminishing one bit.

Deliberately keeping him waiting, she drew her words out. "It's… alright."

"Oh little sis," he said, the words not dampening his spirits whatsoever, as he leaned over to ruffle her hair .

"Hey!"

"You'll learn, you'll learn," he said, before laughing again. A little too enthusiastically, at least to her.

"Alright what's going on?" Kira asked, finally caught up that even he was a little too happy for normal circumstances.

"Let's just say that a certain love potion came very very handy tonight," he said, cheerfully.

"Oh. Oh no. No you didn't," Kira said, her mind racing through the possibilities.

"Ah relax. I didn't use it to spike anyone that didn't deserve it," Daniel said, dismissing the thought already, only to earn a groan from the girl.

"Daniel…"

"Oh don't worry, it'll help them," Daniel said, enthusiastically. "Well, in a roundabout, sort of embarrassing way. We made a few alterations, and look, they might actually end up having a real relationship with this other girl."

That had to be one of the worst excuses she had ever heard, a fact she was about to made known loud and clear. "That, is one of the worst-" but before she could finish her sentence, Daniel noticed his other friends waving at him from a distance.

"Sorry sis, as pleasant as this has been, we'll have to have this lovely talk later," he said, before starting to walk away.

"Daniel!" But it was a lost cause, for once Daniel set off with one thing in mind, little could distract him. Just as she debated on whether or not she should follow, if only to keep him from ruining someone else's life that night, she felt a light tug on her arm, and she turned around. "Oh hey Draco," she greeted, her frustrated look immediately melting away. "I haven't had the chance to-"

"Can we talk?" his voice cut through, serious for once. What was with people not letting her finish her sentences today? But she could hardly argue when her eyes met the determined look on his face.

"Well, yeah, sure," she said, confused. "You can always talk to me, you know that."

"Alone?" he blurted out again.

"Oh, okay?" she said, confused as to what could be so important. Without another word, Draco took her hand, pulling her steadily to the door. Even she would have found it impossible to miss his nervousness, the way he was rushing through everything. As soon as the portrait closed behind them, she looked over at him concerned. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"There's… there's something I want to tell you," Draco said, his words coming out in a rush. Want was the wrong word. He _needed_ to tell her. Now. The need had never been stronger.

"Well what is it?" she asked, the possibilities rushing through her mind. "I'm sure we can think of something, you know, Blaise and Pansy and-"

"Pansy's mad at me right now," Draco said, shaking his head at the distraction.

"Oh, is that it? Well I'm sure she'll-"

"No that's not it either," he said, beginning to feel frustrated at the way his words weren't coming out right.

"Wait, is Blaise mad at you then?" she asked, more confused than ever.

"No! Of course not," he muttered, shaking his head again and again.

"Well are you in trouble or something? Because you don't have to worry, we'll-"

And for once more that night, someone cut through her words.

"Kira, I'm in love with you."

* * *

**A/N: I owe all of you readers out there an apology. I did start working on this as soon as I could, but I simply couldn't get any of it to come out right. I must have rewritten this chapter several times already, and it's still not quite right. Sadly, it's even shorter than the others. With that, added onto writer's block, my computer being re-imaged which meant me losing the files for awhile, I couldn't get this chapter up until now. **

**I will try to get the next one out as soon as I can for those of you who are still out there sticking with this story. Thank you so much. **

**As for this chapter itself, yes, that's a cliffie there. If I allowed it to go on any further, it would have ended up way too long. And I know that a lot of this seems rather out of character, but trust me when I say that it will all be explained very soon. As for now, I'd love to hear your guesses if you have any about the confusion that's going on. **

**As usual, reviews are much loved, and thanks for giving this story a try! **


	9. Broken Confessions and Shattered Dreams

_"Kira, I'm in love with you."_

There was little that did surprise Kira. With problems at home, being friends with the Trio, she would have thought she would be immune to things such as shock, surprise. But the words melted away her worry, threw her into a space where she forgot the very thing that had been on her mind. Her breath had been stolen away, and the only thing that filled her ears was the pounding of her heart, loud and clear into the silence.

"Kira?" His voice caused her to blink again. Something nagged at the back of her mind, but this was lost as well.

"Draco," it seemed a miracle that her voice even worked. Somehow she found herself laughing softly as she carefully averted his gaze. "You're seriously losing your sense of humor you know," she said, a smile on her face again.

Draco shook his head, impatient again. "I was being serious, Kira."

"We should get back to the party. Blaise will be wondering where we are," she said, not sure as to why Draco's words sounded so surreal at this moment. As for Draco, Blaise's name was the last one he wanted to hear coming from Kira's lips.

Kira started forward, reaching for the door again, when Draco reached out, catching her fingers in his. "Kira." And there was no way she could have possibly looked elsewhere this time. Somehow Draco had wounded up rather close to her, so close that she could see the specks of color within the stormy grey of his eyes.

"Draco, I-" But she what? She held no answer in her mind for what he had suddenly sprung on her. Hermione's implications sounded through her thoughts again, and all she could think of was how quickly everything was happening. Love? "I thought you didn't believe in love," she murmured, trying to process exactly what was happening.

"And I thought you did." Draco had thought he didn't either, at least, before. But right now, the idea of not loving Kira was entirely incomprehensible in his mind. "Kira, just- just listen for a moment," Draco said. His fingers threaded through hers, and again her heart kept time with a rhythm so complex, that it was a wonder to her how it kept going. "Maybe, maybe love's the wrong word for now," he admitted. "But, you're the one I want. You're everything I could ever want." There was nothing to describe the burning need he felt now to let her understand.

Even now as he said these words, the words didn't feel right to Kira. They seemed to be formed from the same substance as dreams, too perfect in a sense, even scripted. "Are you sure about this?" The words escaped her before she thought them through, and then she blushed. She had gone out with so many boys before, that none of this should have been new to her. It shouldn't have been so hard to simply say yes. After all, one didn't have to be in love to date, at least, this was what she had always told herself. And how could one find love without attempting to look for it?

Draco chuckled softly at her question. "I've never been so sure of anything in my life." Perhaps yesterday, had anyone told him what would occur tonight, he would have thought it absurd. Now, it was the only thing that made sense. "Can you really tell me, that you feel nothing for me? Nothing beyond friends?"

Could she? But remembering the conversations they held, all that she learned about him, she knew the answer to that question very clearly within her mind. "No, I suppose I can't," she said at last, finally stopping her attempts to avoid this. There was no denying what she did feel for him, however uncertain the feelings were. Kira smiled, biting her lip then. "I suppose… I suppose it would be a lie… to say that I don't like you."

Draco smiled at this, as if he knew the answer all along. "So, do you suppose, it would be the truth, to say, that you like me?"

"I suppose," she said chuckling softly at their words. The nagging feeling of something still being wrong didn't cease to leave her, but she paid no attention to it.

"And while you suppose this, do you suppose you can, well, be my girlfriend then?" Draco asked, a grin on his face. It was strange to see him smile such a way, as if his entire happiness depended on her answer, and this confused her again. But perhaps it was because this was what she had wanted, because she wanted nothing more than to believe that Draco felt the same way as her, that she dismissed this doubt.

"Do you even need to ask?" she replied, smiling as well.

"Perfect," Draco murmured, his eyes lighting up.

The sound of music was louder now as it pulsed through the air, reminding her of what they left behind. "We should get back to the party, shouldn't we?" Kira said.

"Is that what you want?" Draco asked.

At least, going back to the party, perhaps a sense of normality would return, and things wouldn't feel so… surreal. She nodded, before noticing that their fingers were still locked together. "Come on," she said, leading him back inside. The music washed over them as soon as they opened the door, and she took in another deep breath. Kira smiled again, almost unable to believe that this was happening, that she was holding hands with the Slytherin Prince, and even more, she was his girlfriend. But once they had returned to the party, she turned to ask Draco, "So where's Pansy?"

It was a little unnerving to turn around and see his eyes on her still, and for the first time since the Potions class they had at the beginning of the year, Kira felt nervous around Draco. At her question, however, he merely shrugged as if he couldn't have cared less. "Forget about her. What do you want to do?" he asked. "We could dance, or are you thirsty? I could get us some drinks," he said, grinning again.

Kira's own smile faded a little. Was it just her, or were his expressions somewhat forced? Or, at least, artificial? But remembering that Draco was waiting for an answer, she saved her thoughts for later. "Drinks would be nice," she said at last.

"I'll be right back," he said, before leaning over, his lips brushing over her cheek. He smiled again before letting go of her hand, and walking away. Kira grabbed a seat and stared after him for a few seconds too long, confused even more now. She should have been happy beyond belief, shouldn't she? The feeling of bliss she had before was slowly fading away, which made no sense whatsoever. After all, hadn't their 'relationship' or whatever this was, just begun? But this side of Draco, the one that she was seeing just now, seemed so different from the one that she had in her mind from the past few weeks.

"He found you?" a voice suddenly asked, and she turned to see Blaise smirking.

"Hey," Kira answered, feeling relieved all of a sudden.

Blaise laughed. "You see, after you ran off to find your brother, Draco suddenly ran off saying that he had to find you. Seemed pretty urgent too."

"Oh, that," Kira murmured, not really sure about what she felt about it all any longer.

Blaise raised his eyebrows at this. "Unenthusiastic much?"

"No," Kira said quickly, before sighing. "Actually, I just, I don't know." She paused for a moment, before saying, "He asked me out, after some declaration of love actually."

"And?" Blaise said, smirking again.

"Well I said yes."

"So what's wrong? Shouldn't you be happy about this?" he asked.

"I am happy. I am," Kira said. There was no question that this had been what she had wanted, even if she hadn't known it at that time. "It's just… he's different."

"Different?'

"Well, I don't really know how to describe it," she said at last. Now that she was trying to put it into words, such ideas sounded absurd. "It's like he's not really… him." How was she supposed to describe how Draco was no longer acting like the Slytherin that he was? But perhaps she was thinking too much. After all, it couldn't have been more than half an hour.

"He's probably just nervous, Kira," Blaise said, shrugging.

"You don't really seem surprised by all of this," Kira mused.

"Nope. What I'm more surprised is by how you both left poor me all alone," he said, adding bits and pieces of acting to accompany his words.

Kira laughed at his overdramatic antics, grateful for Blaise's easygoing ways, before noticing Draco coming back with their drinks. She turned to wave at him, but the next thing he did caught her completely by surprise. Draco placed the drinks onto a nearby table, before pulling Blaise back roughly by the shoulder. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Draco, what are you doing?" Kira asked, her smile quickly disappearing. The sense of something being horribly wrong came back in full force, and this time she could do nothing to ignore it.

"Hey, relax," Blaise said, gently pushing off his arm. "It's a party, remember?"

Draco moved instead to stand next to Kira, and again his fingers linked with hers, except this time, there was no feeling of bliss that accompanied it. "I don't want you talking to her," Draco said.

"What?" Kira asked in disbelief. She looked at Draco again, and his face had turned into a glare. Although it wasn't directed towards her, the anger had transformed his expression into one that sent a shiver down her spine.

"We were just talking, mate," Blaise said warily, his smile slowly disappearing as well. He looked over at Kira for a second as if trying to piece things together, before looking back at Draco. His grip on her fingers tightened, and Kira winced.

"Draco…," she murmured. A combination of worry and annoyance battled through her, and right now, it seemed as if annoyance was quickly winning.

"Like I said, I don't want you two talking together," he said, ignoring Kira completely. He couldn't explain where this sudden rage emerged from, but he had had enough of Blaise with his words, with his charm, the way he had wrapped Kira around his little finger, the way he made her laugh.

"Draco, what's wrong with you?" Kira said.

"What's wrong with me?" Draco asked incredulous as he finally faced Kira, his voice rising. "What's wrong with him? He's the one that's barging in, trying to steal you away from me-"

"What are you talking about?" Kira interrupted. Yes, annoyance was definitely the dominant emotion here. She tried to pull away her hand now. But if anything, this only made things worse, as his fingers clenched tighter, and she flinched.

"Mate, let go of her," Blaise cut in, beginning to see that Kira had been right before. Something was different, and it wasn't for the better.

"What's it to you?" he said roughly.

"You're hurting her," Blaise said, his voice now harder. At these words, Draco's expression changed and instantly he let go. He looked over to Kira's face only to see that the smile he had adored was no longer there, instead replaced by a hint of a fear, and even anger.

"Kira," Draco said, a pleading tone coming into his voice now. "I didn't mean to. You know I didn't."

"No, I don't," Kira said, shaking her head. "You know what? I think the only thing that's plain right now was that this was a mistake." Draco shook his head. He had been wrong to assume that it was simply anger, now that he heard the hurt mixed into her voice.

"Kira, just, just give me another chance. I really -"

"It's over, Draco, alright?" It seemed idiotic then, that their 'relationship' hadn't lasted past an hour.

"Over?" he repeated, a dismayed look on his face. Again she was struck by the bizarre, strange quality of what was happening, but couldn't come up with an explanation.

Kira then turned to Blaise before murmuring, "I think I'm going to go back first. Thanks for all the fun tonight." Somehow she was able to pull out some resemblance of a smile. Blaise had done nothing wrong.

"Sure thing. I'll see you around then," Blaise said, nodding. With that, Kira started walking back, the full impact of what had just happened finally sinking in. How had things gone so wrong?

"I messed up," Draco said at last, as Kira walked away. Somehow this was enough to make him forget that he was supposed to be angry at Blaise.

"You think?" Blaise replied, sarcastically.

"What should I do Blaise? I have to go apologize," Draco ranted, pacing now. "Do you think it'd help if I sent chocolate? Or maybe roses? Does she even like roses?"

"Relax, mate, just chill for a moment."

"Relax? How can I relax? The love of my life hates me!" he shouted, to get strange looks from the surrounding Slytherins.

"The love of your life?" Blaise repeated. He would have collapsed with laughter at this, had he not caught the seriousness in his expression. "Merlin, what's gotten into you? You've been like this since you went to find Kira," he said, shaking his head. "You know I'm fine with you liking her, but honestly, hasn't this really-" But he cut himself off, realizing what was off about his own statement. "No, you've been acting weird even before that." But since when? He tried to go over the night's events, to pinpoint exactly when this had started.

"I'm not acting weird," Draco dismissed. "You don't have to be jealous that I've finally found who I'm meant for."

"Shh. I'm trying to think here," Blaise hushed.

"Maybe I should ask Pansy. She would know what girls like," Draco continued, without any regard for what Blaise said. "Or maybe her brother. They're really close, aren't they? Although I'm not really close to him, Ryan, or Tristan for that matter. But maybe they'll help?"

"Ryan…" Blaise murmured, finally remembering when it had started. "We have to go find Ryan."

"Now? Do you think he'd know more than Daniel?"

Normally Blaise would have taken any of his friend's antics. He had built up quite a tolerance for such things, especially as even Pansy couldn't faze him any longer. But he hadn't the slightest idea how he was meant to deal with this new Draco. He had half a mind to leave him here while he went to find Ryan himself, but if his suspicions were correct, he didn't want to chance leaving Draco alone in this state. "Um, yeah, you know what? I actually know Ryan a little better than the others. Why don't you let me do the talking later, alright?" he said at last.

Draco nodded quickly before saying, "This way. I just saw him a few minutes ago."

When they did find Ryan, his arm was wrapped around the waist of a skinny Slytherin girl, one that neither Blaise nor Draco were quite familiar with. Tristan was sipping at his drink, and tapped Ryan on the shoulder as he saw them near.

"We need to talk," Blaise said, looking directly at Ryan.

Ryan smirked, before looking towards the girl. "It shouldn't take too long. I'll be right back," he murmured, before standing up. "Tris, you coming?"

Tristan nodded, standing up as well, before gesturing towards an emptier area. The four of them walked there as Ryan began speaking. "Surprised that you would want to speak with me right now, Blaise. Shouldn't you be doing other more important things?" Tristan chuckled at this as well.

"What did you put in Draco's drink?" Blaise said instead of answering him. Draco looked as if he was confused at this sudden change of topics, but said nothing so far.

"In his drink?" Tristan questioned. "Nothing."

Blaise sighed, shaking his head. "The two of you, although I really should say three since I bet Daniel's in this as well, really ought to be a little subtle about this. The drink? The one that Ryan brought us?"

"He's not lying," Ryan said, shrugging. "You know us. We can't resist claiming responsibility for one of our brilliant pranks. Now your drink on the other hand… now that should have had some effect."

"Except I didn't drink it. Draco drank his, but I left mine alone," Blaise said.

"Blaise, aren't you going to ask yet?" Draco suddenly said.

"Ask what?" Tristan asked, curious now.

"Draco, not now," Blaise said quickly, not wanting his friend to embarrass himself any further.

"But that's why we're here," Draco said urgently. "About Kira!"

"Wait wait, Kira? As in, little sister Kira?" Ryan said, now thoroughly confused. "What do you want with her?"

"Yes, her," and his voice took on a dreamy tone. "What does she like? Chocolate? Roses? Or maybe tulips?"

"He's been acting like this for the last, I don't know how long," Blaise groaned.

"Oh shoot," Tristan said, hitting his head. "Ryan! Did you mix the drinks up?"

"Mix them up? Of course not. The one on the right was for Blaise, and the one on the left was for… no actually the one on the left was for Blaise… and…" Ryan's eyes widened in realization. "Oh."

"Idiot," Tristan muttered, before turning to Blaise again. "Alright, we might have slipped a love potion into the drink. Except that doesn't really make sense either, because it should have directed him towards the girl he feels closest to."

"You might have?" Blaise said, before sighing.

"Can one of you answer my question yet? Or does she like jewelry more?" Draco blurted again, which would have sent Ryan laughing had he not remembered that this was Kira that Draco was thinking about.

Blaise asked, "How strong is it?"

"Daniel made a few adjustments," Ryan said thinking. "We thought it would be funny to make you slightly prone to jealousy, overprotectiveness… he probably wouldn't be able to focus on anything other than the girl, really."

Tristan groaned as well. "Daniel's not going to be happy about this."

"Well, do you have an antidote? Because you guys might want to fix this before he goes off chasing after Kira again," Blaise pointed out.

"Again?" Tristan asked, horrified at the thought of Draco Malfoy chasing after the girl he had always thought of as a little sister.

Ryan rummaged through his pockets as he spoke. "You know Daniel. He always prepares something extra in case anything goes wrong, so he swiped some from Snape's office. Here, make him drink this," he said, handing him a small vial. "And, Tristan, I think… we should go now…" Ryan said quickly, before heading off in another direction.

"Good luck," Tristan said before following.

"Draco, drink this," Blaise said, handing it over to Draco.

"Why? I thought you were going to help me make up with Kira!" Draco said, eyeing the potion warily.

"Yeah, yeah, I am, after you drink that. It's uh, it'll make you more… attractive, to Kira's eyes, you know?" Blaise lied, almost cursing when he realized that anyone would have been able to see through that one. Luckily for him, Draco was beyond reason.

"Perfect," Draco said, before unstopping the vial and gulping it down without another thought.

"How long before it takes effect?" Blaise murmured to himself. But there was no need to ask this, because Draco's look of excitement soon transformed into one of horror.

"Please tell me that didn't all just happen," Draco said at last.

* * *

The walk back to the Gryffindor Tower was completely different from the walk to the party. Back then, Kira had been so excited to be going to the party with Draco. She almost laughed now, shaking her head at her absurd thoughts. To think, she had thought she understood him. She had sincerely believed that these hours at night in the Potions classroom, working on their projects, that that was enough for her to get to know him. She thought that would be enough for them to become friends, and tonight, she had thought it would be enough for them to become more.

But if tonight had showed her anything, it was that she hadn't understood him at all. The person that had confessed to her, the person that she had held hands with… he was nothing like who she had thought she had fallen for. She rubbed her now red left hand, and shook her head again. Definitely not anything close to who she thought he had been.

She whispered the password before going in the portrait hole, running a hand through her hair. It wasn't a surprise to see the Trio still up, just as how she wasn't surprised to see the two boys determined not to look at her. "Had fun?" Hermione asked, the only one who seemed to still be on talking terms with her. But when Hermione looked up, she frowned at seeing Kira's expression. "What's wrong?" At this the two others looked up, still concerned for her despite everything.

Kira moved to sit next to Hermione, smiling softly now. How could she have lied to such wonderful friends? "No. Nothing. Just… maybe you three were right."

Ron shook his head. "We always are, but about what this time?"

"Everything," she whispered, the smile disappearing again. "I'm sorry Ron, Harry. I don't know what I was thinking."

Harry stood up at this, before sitting down next to them as well. With a sigh, he wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay Kira, it's alright. It will be alright, okay?"

And Kira could only nod before closing her eyes, not knowing what else there was that she could say. She would try to believe in Harry's words, Hermione and Ron's versions of the message, and remember that they would be with her no matter what. This was what she fell asleep to, words of encouragement, the warm presence of another. Still, none of it kept her from dreaming about the boy that had somehow meant more than he should have. Draco Malfoy.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Hi! Sorry it's been so long. I got pulled away by just normal, hectic life again ^^'''. But I'm back with another chapter, and have ideas for the next already. So this will be my (late) Christmas present to all of you who are sticking with me, and early New Year's present. **

**Now about the chapter itself... I'm not quite sure what I feel about it right now, but I hope you guys liked it. I would love to hear what you guys think! Every single one of your reviews mean so much to me, so thanks to all of you for all the encouragement! So drop a review and I'm going to try to get the next chapter out very soon. Thanks!**


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